
GENERAL PHILIP H. SHERIDAN. 



''Little Phil" and his Troopers. 



THE LIFE 

OF 

GEN. PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, 

Sfe 'IRomancc ant) IRcaPifp: 

HOW AN HUMBLE LAD REACHED THE 
HEAD OF AN ARMY. 

THE CAREER AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THIS MASTERLY LEADER 

OF MEN IN BATTLE; REALISTIC DESCRIPTIONS OF THE 

MARCH, RAID, AND CHARGE OF THE HORSEMEN ; AND 

^GRAPHIC SKETCHES OF OTHER GREAT CAVALRY LEADERS. 



By Frank A. Burr, 



OF THE SECOND MICHIGAN CAVALRY, AUTHOR OF THE " LIFE AND DEEDS OF GENERAL 
U. S. GRANT," "GENERAL JAMES A. BEAVER," "BATTLES OF CHICKAMAUGA 
AND FRANKLIN," ETC. 

AND 



RICHARD J.. HINTON, 



OF THE U. S. COLORED TROOPS, AUTHOR OF THE " ARMY OF THE BORDER," " ENGLISH 
RADICAL LEADERS," " HAND-BOOK TO ARIZONA," "POPULAR LIFE OF WILLIAM H. 
SEWARD," " REPORT ON IRRIGATION IN THE UNITED STATES," ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED 




PROVIDENCE, R. 1.: J. A. & R. A. REID, PUBLISHERS. 

1888. 



PRINTERS. ^^^"^-^9^ 

J. A. & R. A. REID, . PROVIDENCE, K. I. 



ENGRAVERS AND ARTISTS. 

RUSSELL & RICHARDSON, • • . BOSTON, MASS. 

KILBURN & CROSS, 

CHARLES S. HOYT, .... 

J. P. MURPHY & CO., 

N. BROWN. 

CHARLES COPELAND, .... 

FRANK MYRICK, . . . . . 

J. E. TAYLOR, NEW YORK CITY 



ELECTROTYPER. 

L. W. ROGERS, . . BOSTON, MASS. 



PHOTOGRAPHS. 

MAINLY FROM THE LOYAL LEGION COLLECTION, BOSTON, 

BY PERMISSION. 



COPYRIGHT, 

BY J. A. & R. A. REID. 

1888. 



PUBLISHERS' NOTE. 



The story of the life of General Sheridan seemed to the publishers 
of this volume a matter of public interest well worth recording. He had 
had a great and romantic career. At the time the work was first con- 
templated there was a possibility of his being the candidate of a great 
political party for President of the United States, if not in '88, perhaps 
iu_'93. However this might be, the publishers believed that the public 
would fully appreciate a Life of Sheridan, and that it would meet with 
a substantial sale. They therefore entered upon the work of furnishing 
^it. It was the intention to have thus honored Sheridan while he was 
living". There, was no popidar life written that the publishers knew of, 
nor any intimation of one, and the General's ]\/emoirs had not been 
announced.* 

Under these circumstances, it appeared good judgment and a legiti- 
mate business enterprise to perfect and publish in a creditable and con- 
venient form such a "Life" as should be within the reach of the 
humblest American, to whom the story of " Little Phil's" career is of 
as much interest as to the highest. 

With this object in view the names of a number of distinguished 
writers were considered. After due deliberation, arrangements were 
made with the author, who was quite familiar with the subject. He 
had served in the army under Sheridan, had much of the needed 
material already collected, and had such previous training as was ample 
to qualify him for the work proposed. 

The writing, gathering of materials, the manufacture of the paper 
for the first edition, the making of the engravings, arranging with agents 

•In justice to themselves it should be stated that the Afi-moi'rs were not publicly, or to the trade, 
announced until some months after prospectus circulars regarding this work had been sent out by 
the pi\blishers. 



4 PUBLISHERS' NOTE. 

in different parts of the country, etc., were pushed with all possible 
energy, that the book might be available for sale during the campaign, 
should "Little Phil" be one of the nominees for the presidency. It 
was also considered wise to associate with Colonel Burr, Colonel 
Richard J. Hinton, an author of repute and a soldier of distinction, to 
bring the work to a successful issue. 

The information regarding the youth of Sheridan was gathered at 
his early home, from his mother and her neighbors, and much of the 
material from the General himself, while a large portion, forming the 
great life work of the General, was public property, and open to all 
having the literary ability to bring the facts together, and give in con- 
secutive and rounded form the story of the man and the soldier. 

Later came the sickness of the General, the long suspense, and his 
death. The publishers then deemed it wise to delay the work to 
enable them to include the events in the last sad chapters of the 
General's career. 

They have considered the life and services of General Sheridan, as 
they would those of Washington, Lincoln, or Grant, a matter of public 
record ancf of public interest, and have endeavored to do the work with 
honor to the General and credit to themselves — and without detriment 
to others. 

How well the work has been performed, and how well Colonels 
Burr and Hinton have succeeded in portraying the life of the hero in a 
popular manner, as they saw and knew it, the publishers leave to the 
judgment of the reader to decide. 

That there may be no good reason for misinterpreting or misrepre- 
senting, as has been attempted, either the book itself, or the motives of 
its publishers, thev are thus explicit. 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



PREFACE. 



THE CAVALRYMAN. 

About the man who fights on horseback the romance of war has 
always centred. From the first chronicled battle the horseman has been 
not only the most picturesque, but the most dramatic figure in warfare. 
Writers who have recorded the history of armed conflicts have found 
the most thrilling climaxes in the sweep of riding squadrons. Tenny- 
son's "Charge of the Light Brigade" will be read when the stories 
of greater combats have been forgotten. 

In the days of chivalry the mounted man was the main reliance in 
war. But gradually the more deadly musket became the chief instru- 
ment of death. Drill and discipline were reduced to a science. The 
art of war was revolutionized. 

There have been still greater changes since. The duties of mounted 
men have greatly expanded. They not only rush upon the solid lines 
of infantry, in battle array, but in a thousand minor ways lend aid and 
inspiration to great armies. They flash upon the flanks of the enemy, 
and make daring raids for the destruction of lines of communication or 
war supplies. They are the swift annoyance of the enemy, the rest- 
less messengers of defeat and death. The hoof-beats of the horseman 
fall through every gap in the lines, and the reckless charge mai-ks the 
end of battle, and the beginning of pui"suit. 

The cavalry feels the enemy, and reports upon the presence and con- 
dition of his armies. It is the resistless support of the infantry in the 
horrible clash of steel which forces the final decision. Such, in greater 



6 PREFACE. 

or less degree, has been its place and function for many years. But in 
our late war it largely increased its usefulness, and won a broader recog- 
nition than ever before . 

The cavalryman still maintains his romantic preeminence. The 
poet who sings of battle instinctively makes the trooper his model. 
Read "• Paul Revere's Ride" to arouse the men of Middlesex, " Loch- 
invar," Tom Hood's ''Wild Steed of the Plains," and a dozen other 
songs, where even a single trooper has made his cause famous. The 
rush of Murat's squadrons is heard through all the long story of Na- 
poleon's struggle for existence. With us the record has been the same. 
The history of the Revolution is enriched by the exploits of Marion's 
horsemen. Black-horse cavalry has been ever a conspicuous figure in 
the romance of all wars. In our latest conflict, the music of battle 
comes to us laden with the blare of Sheridan's bugles and the rush of 
Stuart's rough riders. Custer's resistless charges, Kilpatrick's raids, 
Pleasonton's, Torbett's, Wilson's, Merritt's, Gregg's swift dashes by dav 
and by night, are filled with the vigor of movement and the charm of 
success. Buford, Bayard, Grierson, and a hundred other generals, 
knights of the sabre and the stirrup, fill in a wonderful picture of dash- 
ing heroism that will live in song and story as long as the record of 
war is read. These horsemen taught the world new lessons of the 
uses of cavalry. The story of Brandy Station, Kilpatrick's raid on 
Richmond, the charge at Yellow Tavern, the cavalry fight at Trevil- 
ian Station, Sheridan's first battle at Booneville, tlie romance of Wil- 
son's raid, and the rough experiences of Averill's battalions, will form 
for all mankind a thrilling and instructive story. To record the heroism 
of the men on horseback, directed, as it was in our war, by the best 
intelligence and the loftiest patriotism, as embodied in the person of 
their commanding general, Philip H. Sheridan, is the purpose of these 
pages. 

F. A. B. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Sheridan as a General. 



Grant's Estimate of Sheridan — His First Impressions of the Great Cavalryman 
— His Qiialities as a Commander — His Second Meeting with Grant — 
Sheridan's Place in History — Closing Scenes of the Rebellion, Pages 17-21 

CHAPTER H. 

Sheridan's Boyhood Days. 

The Humble Home in Ohio — His Family and Early Life — Traditions of the 
Country-Side Concerning Him — A Clerk in the Country Store — Appoint- 
ment to West Point — Anecdotes of Sheridan's Youth — His Early Educa- 
tion and Opportunities, ........ Pages 22-28 

CHAPTER III. 

West Point and the Army. 

His Life at the Military Academy on the Hudson — Early Experiences in the 
Army after Graduation — Interesting Stories of Frontier Life — Outbreak, 
of the Rebellion — His First Service in War — Not a Very Brilliant 
Beginning, Pages 29-44 

CHAPTER IV. 

An Unexpected Promotion. 

How Sheridan was Made a Colonel — Captain Alger's Ride and Its Results — 
Corinth and Pittsburg Landing — Governor Blair's Hesitancy — The Ap- 
pointment — Notified of His Advancement — Satisfied with the Rank of 
Colonel — Takes Command of His Regiment — Its First Impression of 
Him, Pages 45-49 

CHAPTER V. 
The Battle of Booneville. 
Sheridan's First Battle — It was at Booneville, Mississippi — Strength of His 
Command — Its Perilous Position — How He Managed His Troops — Send- 
ing for Reinforcements — The Scout and the Negro — Fooling the Enemy — 
Captain Alger and the " Forlorn Hope " — The Last Charge, and a Com- 
plete Victory, Pages 51-61 

CHAPTER VI. 
A New Command. 
Transferred to the Infantry— Higher Command but Less Congenial Service — 
Battles of Corinth and luka — Making the Most of Small Opportunity — 



8 * CONTENTS. 

Transfer to General Buell's Army — Commanding a Division at Perryville 

— Saving I-oomis' Battery — Victory out of Defeat, . . Pages 63-74 

CHAPTER VII. 
From Perkyville to Stone River. 

Sheridan's Place in the Army of the Cumberland — Preparing for Murfreesboro' 

— Sheridan Leads the Way — Battle of Stone River — Deadly Wrestle 
with Cheatham — Commended for Distinguished Services, . Pages 75-92 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Moving Towards Chickamauga. 

The Tullahoma Campaign — Sheridan's Part in Rosecrans' Movements — Always 
on Time and in the Right Place — Incidents of His Life on the March and 
in Camp — Estimated by His Men — A Popular General — A Hard Fighter 
and Good Tactician, Pages 94-109 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Batti^e of Chickamauga. 

The Field in which Sheridan was Trained — Rosecrans' Movements — How the 
Commander of Cavalry was Made — The Deadly Chickamauga — Sheridan 
and Davis Save the Right Wing — Holding the Gap at Dry Valley — Long- 
street's Veterans — Fighting Cheatham Again — Always a Power on March 
and Field, .......... Pages 110-121 

CHAPTER X. 

At Chattanooga.. 

A Desperate Situation — Helping a Starving Army — Taking Part in the Battle 
of Missionary Ridge — Leading a Desperate Charge up the Heights — 
A Singular Story of War — With Grant on Orchard Knob — Looking at 
Hooker's Fight — A Great Day's Work — Commended for Gallantry and 
Ability, Pages 123-136 

CHAPTER XI. 

A Battle in the Snow. 

Cole's Cavalry Have a Fight — Moseby Attacks and is Beaten Off — A Battle to 
the Death — "Fire the Tents and Shoot by the Light" — Suffering of the 
Men — The Death of Young Paxton, .... Pages 137-144 

CHAPTER XII. 

Summoned to Washington. 

Hard Service After Chattanooga — Grant Puts Him in Command of All the 
Cavalry in the Army of the Potomac — Disgusted at Being Ordered East — 
The Confidence He Inspired — Roster of the Cavalry Corps — Dispute with 
Meade — Changing Sheridan's Orders and its Results, . Pages 145-153 



CONTENTS. 9 

CHAPTER XIII. 

FVoM THE Wilderness to James River. 

Howard's Review of the Field — From Virginia to Louisiana — The Cavahy and 
its Temper — Moving to the Wilderness — Guarding Roads and Supplies — 
Losses in the Mav Fighting — Sheridan's First Great Raid Round Richmond 
— The Yellow Tavern Fight — Rejoining the Army, . Pages 155-165 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Breakinc; the Confederate Communications. 

Sheridan's Second Great Virginia Raid — Intended to Connect with Hunter — 
Operations in the Shenandoah Valley — The Rebel Cavalry Leaders — 
Destroj'ing the Virginia Central Railroad — Fight at Trevilian Station — 
Consternation in Richmond — Return to City Point — Operations About 
Petersburg — Wilson and Kautz South of Richmond — The Battle of Reams 
Station, Pages 167-174 

CHAPTER XV. 

From Corps to Department Commander. 

The Shenandoah Valley — Hunter and Early- — The Valley's Importance to the 
Confederates — Cavalry Raids on Railroads — Washington in Danger — 
The Mine Explosion — How Sheridan Became a Department Commander- 
Maker of His Own Career — Likeness to Napoleon, . Pages 175-183 

CHAPTER XVI. 

In the Shenandoah Valley. 

Sheridan as Department Commander — His First Chance to Demonstrate His 
Ability to Command — Early is Reinforced by Gordon and Lomax — The 
Appearance of the Rebel Commander — The Army Roster — Sheridan's 
Preparations — Attack and Pursuit — The Story of the Loyal Qiiakeress — 
How He Got Intelligence — The Battle of Winchester — Cavalry Charge at 
Opequan — Victories of Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, . Pages 185-204 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat. 

Lincoln's Little Story About General Cass — Change of the Troops — Meddling 
at Washington with Grant's Orders — Wright Surprised at Cedar Creek — 
Rout of the Nineteenth Corps — Sheridan's Ride " to Save the Day" — 
Defeats Early and Gordon — What He Said of His Victory — Thanks of 
President and Congress — Promotion in the Regular Army — The Horse He 
Rode Pages 205-215 



10 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Gordon's Morning Surprise at Cedar Creek. 

Gordon Under Early — A Distinguished Confederate Soldier — An Interview 
About Cedar Creek — Commanding Ewell's Old Corps — How He Planned 
the Attack on Wright — Turning Our Flank Successfully — Rout of the 
Eighth Corps — Early's Folly — Done Enough for One Day — Sheridan's 
Arrival — A Union Victory, Pages 217-227 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Sheridan's Ride. 

The Dash to Cedar Creek — How the Ride was Made — Sheridan's War-Horse 
— A Desperate Situation — The Tide of Battle Running Against the Union 
Troops — 'A Fresh Inspiration for the Army — How the Story of it Came to 
be Written — How T. Buchanan Read Got His Inspiration, Pages 229-236 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Union Cavalry and Its Commanders. 

How Our Cavalry Became Effective — Mounted Infontry and its Uses — Sheri- 
dan and Cavalry Reorganization — How the Commanders were Bred — The 
Battle of Tom's Run, and the " Woodstock Races " — A Graphic Description 
of Battle — Custer, the Embodiment of War — Stories of the Yellow-Haired 
Cavalryman — Sketches of Other Commanders — The Value of Cavalry — 
Destroying Railroads, ........ Pages 237-255 

CHAPTER XXI. 

From the Valley to City Point. 

How Sheridan Went Back to Grant — Clearing the Loudoun and Luray Valleys — 
Great Importance of Sheridan's New Orders — Grant Preparing for the Last 
Fights — The Upper Shenandoah Left Free of a Foe — Custer's Bold Fight 
for Rockford Gap — Early's Rout and Disappearance — Surrender of Char- 
lottesville — Destruction of the James River Canal — Burning Bridges — 
Blowing up Locks — Destroying Railroads — Panic in Richmond — Con- 
federate Government Ready to take Horseback — At City Point — Grant's 
Orders — Sheridan's Desire to ' End the Business Right Here" — The Way 
to Five Forks, Pages 257-267 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Sheridan's Pirsiit of Lee. 

A Masterly Military Achievement — The Battle of Five Forks — How General 
Lee was Out-MancEuvered — The Battle-Field as a Strategetical Point — The 
Corps and Soldiers Engaged — Young Chamberlain's Splendid Fight — 
For " the Honor of the Fifth Corps " — Sheridan's Grand Tactics — Using 
His Cavalry as a Screen — A Battle of Giants — Savage Fighting all Day — 



CONTENTS. II 

Sheridan Seldom Out of Fire— Custer's Yellow Locks at the Front — The 
" Barn Door" Movement and How it Worked — Galloping Down the Lines 

— Mounting the Confederate Breastworks — General Winthrop's Death — 
" Straighten that Line " — Victory—^ Captures — Surrender — The Solemn 
Night Scene at Gravelly Run. . .... Pages 269-280 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Sherid.\n at the Surrender. 

The Five Forks Environment — Striking at Appomattox — Fighting Before Day- 
break—Standing to Horse all Night — Rapid Cavalry Movements — Over- 
riding Meade — Surrounding Lee — Sheridan's Distrust — The Truce — 
Gordon and the Sharpshooter — Grant and Sheridan Meet— The Surrender 
of Lee — " Carrying the World " on Their Shoulders, . Pages 281-303 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Confederate Cavalrymen. 

The Southern Advantage at First— Cavalry Officers Making Fine Command- 
ers — Planter and Farmer Finding Their Horses as Troopers — Wade 
Hampton and Ashby Legions — "Jeb " Stuart Their Best Commander — 
Southwestei-n Leaders Also — How General Lee left the Union Service — 
The Lees — Rosser — Moseby — What Grant Said of the Virginian Partisan 

— Services to the Confederacy — What Lee Said of His Usefulness — The 
" Boys " are Marching Home Again — Not All of Them, Pages 304-316 

CHAPTER XXV. 

A Warning on the Rio Gr.'vnde. 

Sheridan is Sent to Texas — Grant's Love for " Little Phil " —After the Grand 
Review — Logan, Reynolds, Blunt, Pope, and Weitzel, Organizing — What 
was Designed for Mexico — Escabedo and Cortinas on the Lower Grande — 
How the Imperialist Mejia Felt Their Power — Abandoned United States 
Material Obtained by Mexico — Jaurez at Paso Del Norte — The Old Church 

— Our California Cavalrymen — How the Mexican Republicans were Aided 
by the Union — Difficult Task to Maintain Order in Texas, Pages 317-329 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Sheridan in Reconstruction Days. 

Conditions Preceding and Attending Reconstruction — Commanding in the Gulf 
States — New Orleans — Andrew Johnson's Interference — Mechanics Hall 
Massacre — Reconstruction Legislation — Sheridan's Service Under It — 
Shows Excellent Executive Ability — Ejecting a Governor — His Bandit 
Deliverance— He Gives the President the " Lie Direct" — Able but 
Thankless Service — Appointment of General Hancock. . Pages 330-341 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

In Command at Fort Leavenworth and CiiiCAiio. 

I 

Commanding the Department of Missouri — Indian Wars and Disturbances — 
Serious Military Operations Necessitated— Removing Tribes from the Great 
Plains — Campaign Against the Kiowas, Comanches, and Chevennes — 
Made a Lieutenant-General — Where and How the News was Received — 
Headquarters in Chicago — Visit to Europe — Sheridan at Sedan — Hob- 
Nobbing with Bismarck— The Great Fire — Marriage and Removal to 
Washington Pages 343-360 

CHAPTER XXVm. 

Sheridan's Home and Family Like. 

The General's Washington Residence — Mrs. Sheridan and the Children — 
Domestic Character of Husband and Father — Home Interiors — Parlor and 
Library — The General's Office in the War Department — His Staff Officers 

— Incidents and Associations — His Health — The Fatal Sickness — Nonquit 

— Life Closes Amid Nature's Beautv Pages 361-378 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

His Death-Bed and the Return t^) Washington. 

Sad Scenes at Nonquit — The General's Death — Grief of the Family — What 
the Doctors Said — A Simple Military Funeral Decided Upon — Sheridan in 
His Casket — Removal to Washington — Passage from New Bedford to New 
York — The Veterans of the Pennsylvania Road — In Silent Respect Along 
the Route — Arrival at Washington Pages 379-397 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Sheridan's Last Ride. 

Lying in State — Qiiaint and Qiiiet St. Matthew's — The Widow's Last Fare- 
well — The Decorations and Catafalque — Chanting the Requiem — Scenes 
in the Church — The Distinguished Congregation — Altar Boys and 
Dominican Monks — Cardinal Gibbon's Sermort — The Funeral Pageant — 
Bugler Kimball Sounds •' Tap-Taps "—" Put Out the Lights" — "Good- 
Night" — Historic Arlington and Sheridan's Grave, . Pages 400-421 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

General Sheridan's Life and Career — A Review. 

Sheridan's Services — Opinions of Contemporaries — Character and Position as 
a Soldier — As a Citizen and Man — A Wonderful Story of Great Deeds — A 
Romance of War — An Honorable and Upright Personality — His Graphic 
Powers as a Writer — Badeau's Testimony — Brief Speeches at Army 
Reunions Pages 422-437 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Pagk. 
The latk Residknck ok SiiicuinAN's Mother, Somerset, Ohio, . 21 

Home of Sheridan's Boyhood, Somerset, Ohio, . . -25 

Pontoon Boat — Ornamental Piece, ..... 28 

Store at Somerset, Ohio, ....... 35 

Where Sheridan Served as a Clerk, (Present Appearance of Huilding.) 

The Outbreak of the Rehelhon — The Attack on Sumter, . 39 

The Rough Riders, ....... 133 

A Street Ca»alry Kight in Kernslown, \'a. 

On the March — Ornamental Piece, ..... 144 

A Landscape — Ornamental Pifxe, ..... 174 

General Sheridan's HEADqiJARiERs, ..... 185 

Kast Side of Cedar Creek, aftir the IJattle of I'islier's Hill. 

The OPEquAN Ford, ....... 195 

Where Sheridan Crossed his Army before llie Battle of Winchester. 

The Stone Brid(;e at P'isher's Hill, ..... 209 

Where, on Sheridan's Rallying the Union Army, October 19, iS6j, a large Body of Con- 
federate Prisoners was Taken. 

Sheridan's Ride, ........ 228 

Krom an Original Painting by Copeland, of Boston. 

General Sheridan's HEAoquARTERs at Winchester, . . , 236 

The Residence of Lloyd I»gan, Bsii. 

Sheridan on the Road to Five Forks, .... 268 

Taking his Bearings from the " Reliable Contraband." 

Las Cruces, Valley ok Mesila, New Mexico, . . . -3-' 

Headquarters of the California Brigade. 

The Plaza and Church of Paso Del Norte, Chihuahua, Mexico, 325 

The Old Church Held as a Fortress by the Mexican Republicans. 

Late Residence of General Sheridan, WAsiiiNtrroN, 1). C, . 363 



14 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

AuMY 111' MH^i'AKTKKs, Wasium.ton — Statk, War, ano N AN y Brii.niNG, 370 

Caimn dt tuk I'NiTKn Statks SiKAMsmr SwATAKA. . . . 377 

In which Sheriilftn was n-inovoil to Noiujuit. 

Tin: Sill KlUAN CoTlAliK AT NoNt^l'lT, ..... 3S5 

Where the General Dieil, Au>;ust 5, iSSS. 

Thk National Ckmktkky, Aki.ington. .... 41S 

Sliowinj;- the Graves of Many of Ihe Union Dead in the Southwestern Section of the Grounds. 

The Arlington IKusk am> Ckmetkkv, .... 419 

Showing the Sjvn where General Sheridan is Buried. 

PORTRAITS. 

Gknkral run ir II. Siikkioan, .... Frontispiece. 

TnK SuKRiDAN Family .-vt Nonh^i it in 1887, • Opposite page i6 

tJeneral Sheridan, Mrs. Geneml Sheridan, Irene, " Little Phil," Louise, Mary, Colonel 
M. V. Sherid.m, Mrs. Colonel M. V. Sheridan. 

Mrs. Irkni: M. Smkkioan, .... Opposite page 17 

Wife of General T. H. Sheridan; l")aus;hter of General D. H. Rucker, L'nited States Army. 

Mrs. loiiN SiiKRiiiAN, tuk Gkneral's Motukr, ... 17 

loHN SUKRIOAN. THE OeNERAL's FATHKR, . . . . JJ 

I'uuvr 11. SuKRiPAN. ....... .29 

Urevet Second Lieutenant, after Graduation. 

Mk>. MklV UONSAL, ....... :oi 

l-"orn\crlv Miss \Vrij;ht, upon whose Information Shcrid.m Fouglit tlu- l>attle of \Vinchester. 

UNION. 

(.iENKRAl. OOKIH)N (..RANGER, ....... 47 

A l")istin>.;u\shcd t.>tVicer, who Preceded Sheridan in Command of the Second Michigan Cavalry. 

PRKSinENT Lincoln, ....... 50 

(.General R. .\. Algkr, of Michigan, . . . . -59 

One of the Ueri-ies of the Binmeville Fight, l-titer Governor of Michigan. 

(.;kner\i U. R. Grierson, ...... 60 

.\ WtU-known Cavalry Leader of the Army of the Potomic 
OeNERVL I". S. CiRANV. ....... 7^) 

General George Stoneman. ...... 93 

A Distingu»she\l Cavalry Leader, and Ui-centlyGv'vernor of California. 

CiKNERAL lotlN Ul EORD. . . . • - 93 

A Dashing- I'nion Ca»alryiuau. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. i^ 



GeNKRAL WksI.EY MkRRITT, . . . . . . .Ill 

One of Slieridaii's Distinx:»islic'd Gciierals. 

General II. Judson Kilpatrick, ..... 145 

Minister to Chili after the War. 

General Georcje A. Custer, ...... 149 

One of Sheriilan's Troopers, and after the War a Famous Indian Fighter, Killed at 
Rosebud, Dakota, in 1S76. 

Sheridan and His Generals, ...... 154 

General M. E. Davies, General D. McM. (Jregg, General Wesley Merritt, General A, 'l". A. 
Torbett, General J. II. Wilson, General George A. Custer. 

General A. T. A. Torhktt, . . . . . . i6i 

Sheridan's Chief of Stall in the Shenandoah \'alley. 

Major-General Alfred Pleasonton, ..... i66 

The First Chief of Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. 

General George Crook, ....... 166 

A Famous Cavalry Leader of the Army of the Potomac. 

General August V. Kautz, ...... 175 

A Distinguished German-American Officer — Commander of the Cavalry of the Army of 
the James, under Sheridan. 

General David McM. Gregg, ...... 179 

A Famous Division Commander under Sheridan. 

General Alfred N. Duffie, ...... 181 

A Distinguished French Cavalry Ollicer who Performed Gallant Service with the 
Union Army. 

Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, . . . . . . .216 

Son of Admiral John A. Dahlgren, Killed March 3, 1864. 

General H. E. Davies, . . . . . . .216 

One of Sheridan's Famous Division Commanders. 

General Ehen J. Farnsworth, ...... 223 

A Daring Cavalry Ollicer, Killed at Gettysburg. 

General James II. Wilson, ....... 239 

One of Sheridan's Famous Generals. He Conducted the last great Raid, in which 
JelVerson Davis was Captured. 

General W. W. Averill, ...... 256 

A Famous Cavalry General under Stoneman, Pleasonton, and Sheridan. 

General Thomas C. Deven, ...... 263 

The Gallant Commander of the Second Brigade, First Division, Sheridan's Cavalry Corps. 

General George D. Bayard, ...... 277 

One of the Youngest Generals in the Army. Killed at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862. 



i6 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

General J. Irvin Gregg, ....... 393 

A Distinguished Brigade Commander in Sheridan's Corps. 

General William T. Sherman, ...... 342 

Sheridan's Predecessor as General of the Army, Hero of the March to the Sea, and One of 
the Three Great Captains under whom the War was Brought to a Successful Close. 

Philip Henry Sheridan, ....... 399 

From a Photograph later than that from whidh the Frontispiece was taken. 

CONFEDERATES. 

General J. R. Chalmers, of Mississippi, . . . . -55 

Sheridan's Antagonist at Booneville, Member of Congress from Mississippi after the War. 

General J. B. Gordon, Governor of Georgia, ... 62 

A Distinguished Cavalryman, who Fought against Sheridan at Cedar Creek. 

General Fitzhugh Lee, Governor of Virginia, . . .62 

One of the Famous Confederate Cavalrymen of the Army of Northern Virginia. 

General Joseph A. Wheeler, . . . . . .119 

Now a Member of the National House of Representatives from Alabama. 

General N. B. Forrest, ....... 122 

A Famous Cavalry Leader in the Southwest. 

General J. E. B. Stuart, . . . . . . 122 

The Most Famous Cavalry Leader of the Confederate Army, Killed at Yellow Tavern. 

Colonel John A. Moseby, . . . . . . .141 

A Famous Confederate Partisan Leader, Consul to Hong Kong during Piesident 
Grant's Administration. 

Colonel Harry Gilmore, ...... 184 

A Confederate Partisan from Maryland. 

General W. H. H. Rosser, ....... 184 

Pitted against Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, in 1864. 

General JuBAL Early, . . . . . . . 231 

Sheridan's Antagonist at Winchester. 

General John B. Imboden, . ..... 256 

A Distinguished Confederate General, of Virginia. 

A Confederate Cavalryman — Ornamental Piece, . . 304 

General Wade Hampton, . . . . . . • S" 

A Famous Confederate Cavalry Officer. Since the War a United States Senator 
from South Carolina. 



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MRS. IRRNE M. SHHRIDAN. 



WIFE OF GEN. P. H. SHERIDAN : DAUGHTER OF GEN. D. H. RUCKER, U. S. 



Chapter I. 



SHERIDAN AS A GENERAL. 



grant's estimate of SHERIDAN HIS FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE GREAT 

CAVALRYMAN — HIS QUALITIES AS A COMMANDER — HIS SECOND MEETING 
WITH GRANT — SHERIDAN's PLACE IN HISTORY — CLOSING SCENES OF THE 
REBELLION. 

" Sheridan's 
pursuit of Lee 
was perfect in its 
generalship and 
energy." Gene- 
ral Grantpaid this 
fitting tribute to 
the soldier whose 
brilliant career 
these pages will 
record. Then the 
mighty man of 
war added : ' ' As 
a soldier, as a 
commander of 
troops, as a man 
capable of doing 
all that is possible 
with any number 
of men, there is 
no man living 
greater than Sher- 
idan. He belongs to the very first rank of soldiers, not only of our coun- 
try, but of the world. I rank Sheridan with Napoleon and Frederick 
and the great commanders in history. No man ever had such a faculty 
of finding out things as Sheridan, or of knowing all about the enemy. 
He was always the best informed man in his command as to the enemy. 
2 




MRS. JOHN SHERIDAN, 

THE GENERAL'S MOTHER. 



i8 THE LIFE OF 

Then he had that magnetic quality of swaying men which I wish I 
had — a rare quality in a general. I don't think an}^ one can give 
Sheridan too high praise," 

It took the humble Ohio lad more than four years, in the white heat 
of war, to make these facts clear to his countrymen and the authorities 
in control of the government and its armies. He was not a ty2:)ical hero 
in appearance. His size was against him. Restless, full of the com- 
bative quality, not politic in language, somewhat reticent, half stub- 
born, and fond of hazardous enterprises, he was the embodiment of 
heroism, dash, and impulse. Then he had the power of inspiring all 
about him, and imparting to others the very confidence he felt himself. 
Yet he seemingly commanded only those qualities which show the 
wide difference between the habitual impulses of the brilliant corps 
commander, and the cool thinking of a chief in the art, as well as in 
the onset, of war. At the very outset of his career, just after he was 
appointed colonel of cavalry, and while on the way with his regiment 
to join General Gordon Granger, he met the future commander of the 
armies. But the impression he created on that occasion was not a 
favorable one. In fact. Grant tells us that it was bad, and relates the 
incident in these words : 

" We met at a railway station. I had never seen Sheridan but once 
before. He was then commissary at Halleck's headquarters during 
the march toward Corinth. Although he belonged to the Fourth In- 
fantry, my old regiment, I had no acquaintance with him, for he grad- 
uated ten years after I had left West Point. I knew I had sent a regi- 
ment of cavalry to join Granger, but I had not indi(?kted the Second 
Michigan, of which Sheridan jjiad recently been made the colonel. I 
really did not wish that regiment to leave. As we met for the second 
time in our lives, I spoke to him about his going. He said he would 
rather go than stay, or some similar brusque and rough remark that 
annoyed me. I don't think he could have said anything that would 
have made a worse impression upon me. But I subsequently watched 
his career and saw how much there was in him. When I came East 
and took command, I looked around for a cavalry commander. While 
standing in front of the White House talking to Mr. Lincoln and 
General Halleck, I said I wanted the best man I could find for a cav- 
alry commander. 'Then' said Halleck, 'why not take Phil Sheri- 
dan?' 'Well,' I said, 'I was going to say Phil Sheridan.' So 
Sheridan was sent for, and he came, but very much disgusted. He 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 19 

was just about to have a corps, and he did not know why we wanted 
him East, whether it was to discipline him or not." 

The country had not yet become interested in Sheridan, as Grant 
had. He was still practically unknown outside the immediate army in 
which he served when called from the West. His great fight with 
Cheatham at Stone River, his second struggle with the same general 
at Chickamauga, and his good deeds at Missionary Ridge, had, it is true, 
attracted the attention of military men. But he: was only at the thresh- 
old of his fame when Grant sent him across the Rapidan as his 
chief of cavalry in 1864. The troopers had now become a positive 
power in army operations, yet their new leader was only considered a 
" rough rider " by the country, capable of great things with a small 
force and rapid movement. The series of brilliant cavalry operations 
which led to his transfer to the Shenandoah was all lost to the public 
ear, in the din of the greater army movements that were going on around 
him. He was sent to the valley of Virginia by an accident, as a 
cavalryman, riot as a great commander ; but his deeds soon carried 
him to supreme command, and he fought several great battles. Yet 
he did not reach the summit of his fame until the final act which 
destroyed Lee's army. In the closing hours of the Rebellion, Sheridan 
became the vivid omen of defeat to the broken soldier in gray. Grant 
called him from the Shenandoah ; and when he reached him on the 
last days of February, 1865, with his ten thousand troopers, the lines 
were closing around the fated Confederacy. Sheridan became to 
Grant what Murat was to Napoleon. After Meade's forces crashed 
through Lee's lines at Petersburg, and the southern commander moved 
south to join Johnston, Sheridan's great work began. 

The failing army against which his firm and fateful operations were 
now directed, was simply a vitalized desperation. It was at the mercy 
of Time. It had hopes, but they were only a pathetic disbelief in the 
inevitable. The swift stroke of the Federal cavalry was everywhere. 
It flashed upon the Confederate flanks, laughed past its front, and then 
it picked up the stragglers. It was the materialized sneer of fate at 
the hopelessness of further opposition. 

The lines were closing, and there were gaps through which the 
hoof-beats of the horses were heard, and the sabres of the troopers fell. 
Every time they advanced farther and more recklessly, until the doomed 
army knew that the great cordon which was to crush it was closing more 
and more tightly around it. The daring of the Confederates was 
simply an attempt to postpone the inevitable ; but it was a striking 



20 ' THE LIFE OF 

illustration of their discipline, and the contulence reposed in their com- 
mander. The cavalry had whirled through the Shenandoah — a cyclone 
ot war — and had left a ruined country and a scattered and dispirited 
rennumt of an army. It had throttled the last hope at Five Forks. 
Sheridan, the dashins^ cavalry ofHcer, the masterlv leader of men in 
battle, here proved himself a perfect tactician on the tield and in the 
face of a lighting army. The whole of his movements won from an 
applauding world the recognition of his powers as a great commanding 
general. From that point it was little more than a series of running 
skirmishes, some of them desperate, all of them evidences of Ameri- 
can grit ; tor, though sore, weary, and starving, the remnants of Lee's 
once great army would sometimes tiun and sting with terrible power 
their relentless pursuers. But l^nion troopers harassed them at every 
turn. The infantry drove their already dejected forces into disorder. 
The great cordon closed aroimd them like an immense barn door, and 
the main army swung on the veterans of Lee like a host of beating 
flails winnowing the grain. Every avenue was closed by the Federal 
troopers. They had overrim all the roads of supplies and left them 
barren. \Vherever the Confederacy looked expectantlv for some new 
path of escape or succor, Sheridan was there like a whirlwind of death 
and defeat. Across fields, down highways, through by-paths, and on 
every road, in the storm and terror of Five Forks, on the road below 
Appomattox, this great cavalryman and wonderful soldier was leading 
the advance or striking the flank of the enemy, with an energy born 
of the mighty power of a great brain \vell schooled in the best element 
of the art and vigor of war. 

Finally, on a beautiful April morning in 1S65, as the sun rose 
over the hills antl vales of a region that had never yet felt the cruel 
footfall of war. Sheridan's cavalry swung into line for the last charge, 
rhe sound of those horses' hoot's on the road bevond Gordon's advance 
was the tinal menace to the expiring Confederacy. 

The night of the Sth of April closed upon a day of hard work and 
exciting events. By a forced and rapid march Sheridan had thrust his 
cavalry in front of the retreating Confederate army. The night before 
the surrender, Custer had enveloped Appomattox Station, capturing three 
heavily laden railway trains of supplies, twentv-five pieces of artillery, 
200 wagons, and many prisoners. Atler this stroke the cavalrymen 
stood to horse all night. The gray of the morning was just yielding 
to the stronger light of full day when they were ordered to move for- 
ward. As they emerged from the woods and advanced upon the plains 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



21 




THE LATE RESIDENCE OF SHERIDAN'S MOTHER. 
SOMERSET, OHIO. 

[From a Recent Photograph.'] 

beyond, they could see the army of Lee cut oft' from further retreat. 
It was a sight at once grand and thriUing when the horsemen moved 
forward to the final attack. Gordon made an attempt to destroy the 
line of cavalry which appeared with sabres glistening in the spring sun, 
the trophies of war mingling with battle-flags of the Union commander. 
Behind Sheridan's cavalry long lines of infantry under Ord, Griflin, 
and Gibbon, were waiting to gather the sheaves of war which Sheri- 
dan's troopers had secured. The last fight was a short one, and the 
white flag of truce from Gordon's headquarters announced the final sur- 
render. Sheridan rode into the Confederate lines to receive the praises 
of his chief and the applause of his country for his brilliant work. It 
was a fitting end to the closing hours of the great struggle, that his 
fame as a soldier should be completed only with the final breaking up, 
which his generalship and energy had done so much to hasten. 

The story of so dashing and brilliant a life cannot be easily told. 
But it is well before taking up the thread of his military life in detail, to 
observe the elements of mind and character which have combined to pro- 
duce a soldier whose fame has reached far beyond the limits of his own 
country, and of whom Gralit once said : •' No better general ever lived." 



Chapter II. 



SHERIDAN'S BOYHOOD DAYS, 



THE HUMBLE HOME IN OHIO — HIS FAMILY AND EARLY LIFE — TRADITIONS OF 

THE COUNTRY-SIDE CONCERNING HIM A CLERK IN THE COUNTRY STORE 

APPOINTMENT TO WEST POINT — ANECDOTES OF SHERIDAN'S YOUTH — HIS 
EARLY EDUCATION AND OPPORTUNITIES. 

It is seldom 
that the same gen- 
eral ro\'eals great- 
ness alike on the 
battle-field and 
in the planning 
ot' campaigns. 
Therefore it is, 
that in the sharp 
test of warfare 
only one officer 
^teps forward 
among the many 
possessing all the 
traits necessaiy to 
the successful 
conduct of war- 
like operations. 
Yet no two great 
JOHN SHERIDAN, commanders have 

THE GENERAL'S FATHER. pOSSCSScd tllC 

same qualifications. Sheridan is not complete on the same lines tliat 
made Grant such a mighty power in war. But he hekl other gifts 
of head and spirit which Grant had not, and which go very tar 
toward rounding up the strength of resource between them. Sher- 




GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 23 

idan has the impetuous quality that comes from Irish ancestry. 
Grant inherited the perfect temper, self-poise, resolution, and endurance 
of the Scotch. Naturally, a wide difference, yet they had many quali- 
ties in common. Neither of them was talkative, and in their army life 
both may well be called silent men of the type of whom Carlyle says : 

"The noble silent men, scattered here and there, each in his depart- 
ment, silently thinking, silently woiking, — they are the salt of the earth. 
Silence — the great empire of silence." 

It is not necessary, in seeking the sources of Sheridan's power, to 
go back farther than his immediate family. His father came to this 
country shortly before Philip was born, and settled for a time in 
Albany, N. Y. He was a laborer and contractor, according to his 
varying fortunes. Early in life he married Mary Maigh, a fine speci- 
men of Irish womanhood, who was born in the county of Cavan in 
iSoi. She bore him six children : Patrick H., Philip H., Michael V., 
John, Mary, and Rosa. Patrick, the oldest child, was born in Ire- 
land, also a daughter, who died at sea. The family came to Quebec, 
Canada, in 1S29, thence to St. John, New Brunswick, from there to 
Portland, Me., arriving in Albany, N. Y., in 1S30. Remaining in 
Albany several years, they moved to Somerset, Ohio. Next to the 
T^laughter who died at sea came the general ; then Marv^who married 
Mr. John Wilson, and died in 1S6S ; then John L., born in 1S37, fol- 
lowed by Colonel M. V. Sheridan, U. S. A., born in 1S40. This em- 
braces the entire fomily. Mrs. Sheridan had relatives living near Som- 
erset ; and desiring to be near her kindred, the elder Sheridan decided 
to leave Albany for the West. When Philip, who was born at Albany, 
March 6, 1S31, was yet a child in arms, the family settled in the queer 
little Ohio village, where they have ever since lived. John Sheridan 
became a contractor on the Maysville turnpike, running towards 
Jonesville. 

This region was then the far West. The vast domain beyond the 
AUeghanies was only being opened up to settlement. Therefore, the 
early surroundings of the Sheridan family were rude. But the primi- 
tive conditions of the new country, forbidding as they were, brought 
out the best energies of the young who grew up in it. 

John Sheridan was not as prosperous as many of his neighbors ; yet, 
by industry and perseverance, he was able to bring his family up with 
most of the advantages of the country-side. 

It is a village tradition that Mrs. Sheridan was, in the days of their 



24 THE LIFE OF 

early struggle, a remarkable woman. She brought up her children 
carefully, and taught them habits of industry. Her boys are said to 
have been as well behaved and as neatly dressed as any of the children 
in the neighborhood. She also schooled them in their first lessons, and 
imparted to them much of her own spirit and many of her sterling 
qualities. 

It has been written that men inherit their strongest qualities of mind 
and heart from their mothers. Sheridan is no exception to this rule. 

Of the four boys of John Sheridan, Patrick H. was regarded as the 
brightest and the most likely to make his mark in the world. It is 
stated by those who were boys and girls when Phil Shei'idan was a lad, 
that it was his father's intention that Patrick, and not Philip, should 
be sent to West Point. All the Sheridan boys were brought up to be 
industrious. Philip was, in early life, a clerk in the country stores. 
Michael, now an assistant adjutant-general on his brother's staff, and 
John, who never reached a higher place in the army than that of a 
private, worked in the printing-office of the town. 

It is an odd experience to find one's self in a country store in a 
remote village, aside from the main lines of travel, and to hear from 
the clerk, between the intervals of getting tape and buttons, hardware 
and groceries, the early history of the General of the Army, who often 
slept with him beneath the counter. It is a favorite pastime for the jus- 
tice and the pi-eacher, the shoemaker and the attorney, to gather in 
Fink & Dittoe's establishment, and listen to Captain Greiner and Mr. 
Fink recall their adventures with Phil Sheridan when they were boys 
together. But few of the companions of Sheridan's boyhood live in 
Somerset now. They, like him, have drifted into the outer currents 
of life, and are scattered over the country. Those who have re- 
mained find pleasure in telling stories of the boy, who, by dint of those 
very qualities that made him a leader of his companions in youth, won 
his way to the head of the army. The boys who fought and played 
with him have not achieved distinction. The few of them who have 
remained in the town have stagnated there. Captain Greiner, the vil- 
lage dentist, who fought in the war ; Martin Scott, a genial old man, 
who keeps another store over the way ; Brashton, a lawyer of advanced 
years, and Henry Talbot, give many reminiscences of Phil Sheridan, as 
they still call him. The little village where he w^as brought up has 
fallen behind in the rapid growth of the country all around it. Years 
ago it was the county-seat, made some pretence of bustle and business. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



2^ 




HOME OF SHERIDAN'S BOYHOOD, SOMERSET, OHIO. 

[From a Recent Pholograph.'\ 

and promised to grow into a city. But as railroads were built, they 
passed it on one side on their way to the mines ; the county court 
was held elsewhere ; the young men pushed into more active fields ; 
and Somerset became that rare phenomenon in the West, a town which 
lost population instead of gaining it. Qiiiet and dull, with few young 
people to be seen, it has far less life in its central square than have 
most other towns of its size. 

The open space in the middle of the village is surrounded by stores 
and offices. From it run four roads, along which houses are scattered 
for a short distance, and then comes open country. About fourteen 
hundred people are grouped in this settlement — fewer than lived here 



26 THE LIFE OF 

thirty or more years ago, when Phil Sheridan, a lively boy, romped 
and ran through its open streets. 

Only a few people can recall much of the early history of the man 
who has now reached such an eminence. "Mike" Sheridan, as the 
village people call him, is better known, perhaps, than his brother. A 
half mile or so beyond the town, Mrs. Sheridan lived in a quiet, 
unpretending house, such as one finds in any country village. The old 
lady, when the writer, not long since, called upon her, had passed 
more than fourscore years, and still retained her faculties and strength. 
Her boys "Phil" and "Mike" were the pride of her life; and 
be it said to their credit, in their prosperity they never forgot the 
plain, warm-hearted, good mother, from whom they inherited many 
of their best qualities. Chance threw the writer into her company. 
Her strong features lighted up, and her eyes sparkled with pleasure, 
when the name of the great general, her son, was spoken. 

"He was always a fine lad and good to his mother. I don't want 
to be foolishly proud about him, but he's been a good son to me. He 
was always in mischief, and always used to be teaching the boys to be 
soldiers when he was younger than any of them. But he would never 
do anything mean. He never lets a year go round that he doesn't 
come to see me ; and he's very kind." 

As may be imagined, Sheridan's early educational advantages were 
few. His instructor was a unique character, named McNally. His 
hot temper displayed itself in bursts of passion, which alternated with 
the most efllisive kindness towards his pupils. At one hour he would 
thrash and scold till arm and tongue were weary ; at another he would 
promise the boys a holiday, and joke with them as if he were a boy 
himself. Toward Sheridan especially, he was always either exceed- 
ingly gracious or very severe. He had a kindly feeling for the little 
Irish boy who was always playing tricks on the other lads. But the 
teacher had another favorite, a boy named Home. One day Sheridan 
and Home quarreled, and Home rushed into the school-house with his 
nose bleeding, wailing his distress to the master. McNally was furious. 
He seized a long stick and sallied out in search of Sheridan. It was 
recess time, and the young conqueror was sitting on a rail fence, watch- 
ing the school-house, knowing that there were breakers ahead. The 
appearance of the teacher was warning enough. Sheridan ran away 
as fast as his little legs could carry him. 

"Come back here, you little rascal!" shouted McNally, starting 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 27 

in pursuit. The chase led up the middle of the main village street, 
and everybody rushed out to see it. The pedagogue ran, his flying 
coat-tails and long hair tossed in the wind, shaking his stick, and mak- 
ing the most terrible threats. The boy's strength began to fail ; the 
master was gaining; escape seemed impossible. Just then the friendly 
door of a tin-shop appeared v^^ide open. The tinsmith, Sam Cassell, 
was a great friend of Phil's, and to him the boy rushed. 

" Hide me, Sam," he begged. There was not a second to lose. 
The old man was at work on a big copper kettle. Qiiick as a flash he 
clapped the kettle over the boy, and when the teacher arrived the tin- 
smith was calmly hammering away at a rivet, within two inches of the 
fugitive's head. 

" Where's that boy who ran in here.'' " panted AIcNally. 

" I don't know. He went out back somewhere," responded Cassell. 

The teacher looked and looked ; but Sheridan was not to be found, 
and his baffled pursuer returned to the school-house. An hour later 
little Phil came back also, well knowing that McNally's anger would be 
cooled. The teacher let the boy walk to his desk, and never said a 
word about the fight or chase. 

Phil Sheridan was, from his earliest boyhood, a lover of soldiers. 
His eye danced and his heart beat whenever there was a drill of the 
village militia company. Every summer he would get a dozen of his 
school-mates, and persuade them that it was the best fun in the world 
to play soldier. His friend Cassell would let him have a sword of the 
sharpest and brightest tin, and, of course, Phil was always captain. 
But there would always be some mutinous boy who wanted to be 
captain, too, and Sheridan's company usually broke up in confusion. 

A hundred other stories like this are told in the town where he grew 
up, but it would take a volume to record the anecdotes of his boy- 
hood days. His fame is the pride of the village, and the casual 
visitor who chances to stop at Somerset is never allowed to leave with- 
out due notice of the fact that this little village has raised a great soldier 
for the army. These humble people love to tell that one of the traits 
of this boy, besides his love of fun and soldiering, was that he never 
knew fear. He was always ready to stand his ground against any odds. 
The school-master who taught him his earliest lessons has long since 
passed away ; but his school-mates say that Phil Sheridan never studied 
in earnest until he thought he had a chance to go to West Point. 



28 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



Then he devoted all his energies to craniminy for his examination. He 
got his appointment in 1S49, '^"'^^ K^" "^^"^^ ^'^ ^^'^ friends' aith passed the 
ordeal, and was admitted to the military aeademy. For two years the 
village lost sight of him, and then he came home on his tirst leave of 
absence. He brought two companions with him, the now tamons Gen- 
eral Crook, and Colonel Nugent, who afterwartls made something of a 
mark in the army. These three cadets were the lions of the town, 
and picnics, rides, and rural frolics filled the summer. 

This first summer that Sheridan passed at .home after his entrance 
to West Point is often spoken of by his neighbors. He closed his 
round of pleasures by thrashing a lawyer named Henessey, twice as 
large as himself, who had made some idle remark about his family. 
The story of this fight is about the last reminiscence these plain people 
give of the poor bov who used to live amongst them, but who is now 
General of the Armv. He was graduated in the class of 1S53, and 
immediately appointed a brevet second lieutenant in the First In- 
fantry. Almost all they knew of him in recent years was that, until 
her recent demise, he came now and then to see his mother, and in 
the glamor of his official life had not forgotten the homely days of 
his youth. 




Chapter III 



WEST POINT AND THE ARMY. 

HIS LIFE AT THE MILITARY ACADEMY ON THE HUDSOX — EARLY EXPERIENCES 
IN THE ARMY AFTER GRADUATION — INTERESTING STORIES OF FRONTIER 
LIFE — OUTBREAK OF THE REBELLION — HIS FIRST SERVICE IN WAR — NOT 
A VERY BRILLIANT BEGINNING. 



The bo}', who at ten 
3^ears of age had whipped 
every one of his size and 
weight in the town of Som- 
erset, and received the sur- 
render of his school-mas- 
ter, whom with the aid of 
his dog, he had ignomin- 
iously driven up a tree, 
was a fitting candidate, a 
few years later, for a West 
Point cadetship. 

It was in the year 1S47, 
while emploved as a clerk 
in the dry goods store of 
Fink & Dittoe at Somerset, 
that }oung Sheridan had 
his ambition fired with a 
desire to enter the militarv 
academy. There was a 
vacant cadetship at the dis- 
posal of General Ritchie, then a representative in Congress from the 
district in which Somerset was included. The ambitious boy made 
his application direct, writing and signing the letter himself and having 
no endorsements attached. 

The congressman made the appointment, and the nominee went 




PHILIP H. SHERIDAN. 

BREVET SECOND LIEUTENANT, AFTER GRADUATION. 



30 THE LIFE OF 

earnestly and industriously to work suppl^'ing the deficiencies of a 
limited education. He placed himself under the tuition of a Mr. 
Clark, a fine mathematician and excellent teacher. Pupil and teacher 
worked hard, and at the end of three months young Sheridan was 
ready for his examination. He left Somerset for West Point and was 
admitted to the academy in the spring of 1S4S. 

No moi"e peculiar looking lad had ever been admitted. He is, 
to-day, one of the most notable appearing of men, when one associates 
with so commanding a military reputation, the physique which is com- 
monly presumed to be part of a soldier's qualifications. On horseback 
and in battle. General Sheridan is the very embodiment of conflict. 
He is the apotheosis in his personality of both brain and blow ; of in- 
tellect and action ; of swift conception and daring execution. Some 
one who has known him well declares that in the field " Sheridan was 
a terribly ugly man." He was profanely bitter in cases of unneeded 
delay or failure: not sparing himself, he never spared others. "• He 
never raved or frothed at the mouth, but he was short, sharp, hot, 
peppery, crusty, sarcastic, vehement, and full of fight even with his own 
staff". Excuses were in vain. When his manoeuvres were successful 
he never stopped to receive pi^aise ; he accepted it as perfectly natural ; 
but when anything went wrong he was perfectly savage." 

The boy was father to the man : the West Point cadet proved him- 
self the forerunner of the mature soldier. His appearance at the acad- 
emy excited both curiosity and amusement, and his peculiar build made 
him the butt of his class, until it became painfully evident to those who 
practiced their jokes that he was a dangerous subject to jest with. 
General Hascall, one of his classmates, and now resident of Indian- 
apolis, says : 

" He was one of the most peculiarly built boys I ever saw. His 
chest was very large and full, his legs short and small, and his arms so 
phenomenally long that his hands reached far below his knees as he 
walked. His physical peculiarities were so marked before he finally 
and fully developed that he came very near being rejected by the 
examining board on that account." 

It was those long arms of his that enabled Sheridan to become one 
of the finest swordsmen of his age. His knowledge of horses stood 
him in excellent stead, and his audacious courage in handling and rid- 
ing them soon made him a leader in the riding school. On horseback 
Sheridan looks to be a large man. On his feet, he is indeed peculiar. 
In these later and fomous days, he excites as much comment as did 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 31 

his rustic, ungainly appearance at the miHtary academy forty years 
since. At the headquarters of the army, or elsewhere in Washington, 
Sheridan, unless met face to face, would surprise a stranger almost to 
incredulity by his appearance. He is careless of dress, and like most 
American officers; especially in the regular army, gets as far away from 
uniform when oft' duty as is possible. His short figure has grown 
very rotund with increasing years and comparative ease. Seen by a 
correspondent a short time before his serious sickness, he was thus 
described : 

" He wore upon the back of his round, bullet head a very slim, 
high, old-fashioned silk hat of a style that was popular at the close of 
the Civil War. It was about two sizes too small. His short, iron 
gray hair stood out from under the rim of his hat at nearly right angles 
with it. His red, weather-beaten face did not show any new lines of 
advancing age, but his grizzly, iron-gray mustache and imperial were 
whitening very fast. He wore a short, light, yellow-gray overcoat 
which had only two buttons on it, and they were nearly ready to fly oft' 
from the undue strain of Sheridan's round figure. The coat like the 
hat, appeared to have been long outgrown. The trousers were a gray 
plaid and fitted very snugly to the general's fat legs. His boots were 
thick soled and unblacked. He wore no gloves. The side and rear 
views of the general suggested a low comedy man who had walked oft' 
the stage all made up for a funny part ; but when you came to look at 
the genei"al square in the face, its stern, solemn, composed lines were 
enough to make one forget his grotesque figure and careless dress." 

Cadet Sheridan at his studies and books was more inapt and dull 
than at his drill and exercises, yet that he was a poor scholar is not 
at all a correct statement. The academic curriculum was even then 
too severe to permit a dullard or dunce to graduate successfully. Sheri- 
dan was simply an average scholar, and a superior soldier-cadet. He 
was a sturdy, self-respecting " pleb, " and did not allow himself to be 
bullied by the cadets, chiefly from the slave-holding states and the 
cities of the North, who presumed to set up in business as the aristo- 
crats of the academy. At that period the northern cadet who did not 
succumb to the social and political blandishments which were under 
the control of pro-slavery influences that dominated the country and all 
its administrative forces, had indeed a rocky path to climb, and found 
his way to even legitimate advancement a severe one. Young Sheri- 
dan did not quarrel with the prevailing tone of the period, it is true, 
but found himself socially ignored by the cadets more favored in jDcrson 



^2 THE LIFE OF 

and influence. He was too self respecting to care for this, though 
quick to resent any presumption on the part of his fellow-cadets. It 
was an incident of this sort that set him back a year in his gi^aduation. 

On one occasion, about the middle of his cadetship, the officer of 
the day was Captain Terrell, a somewhat petty martinet and diciplina- 
rian, wdio sought to gain favor and promotion by a system of small 
rigorousness. Sheridan was a few minutes late at reveille and Terrell 
reported him for this fault. As a consequence the cadet was repri- 
manded. Sheridan w'as enraged at this, and not being at all lacking 
in spirit, caught Terrell next day oft' duty and attempted at once to give 
him a pummelling for what he considered an unwarranted indignity. 
The sturdy young fellow got in his work on the older martinet, and 
though he was somewhat worsted in the encounter, remained satisfied 
with the humiliation he inflicted on Terrell by attacking him so unceri- 
moniously, even though it brought on him the severe punishment of a 
year's svispension, In_ consequence of this, Sheridan did not graduate till 
1853, when he was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant of infantry, 
and sent to Texas immediately on the expiration of the usual leave of 
absence granted to graduates on their leaving the military academy. 

A brief rest at home, with one of his class : then, Sheridan was oft' 
to begin that eventful career which has placed his name among the half 
dozen foremost soldiers of this country. At the academy he acquired 
the habits of the cadets. He naturally gi"ew fond of his pipe, and 
among the many relics and trophies of his wonderful forty years of 
superb activities, the little mahogany-hued meerschaum, which with all a 
boy's pride he " stained" while a cadet, is still preserved in his lovely 
and interesting Washington home. He made the town-people of Som- 
erset remember him as the roads and by-ways W'itnessed his feats of 
horsemanship, of reckless riding. The picture of Lieutenant Sheridan 
was taken during this visit. ' It is a curious evidence of the sturdy sim- 
plicity of the Sheridan family that this old-fashioned picture, so valuable 
a reminiscence of a great historical character, had been almost forgotten 
by even his mother, until it was sought for as a valuable portion of the 
material that was being collected for this volume. Perhaps this sturdy 
simplicity can be best illustrated by a later incident : 

Captain Greiner, of Somerset, a few years after the Civil War closed, 
was a candidate for some county ofiice. In conducting a personal 
canvass, he rode horseback. Calling at the home of John and Mary 
Sheridan, the general's parents, the old gentleman (who died a little 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 33 

later, in 1S75) remarked upon the fact that the captain was using a 
very poor saddle. He said : 

" Captain Greiner, you'll never get through this campaign on that 
saddle, and you'd better let me give you another. We have one that 
Phil sent liome not long ago, and it's the one he rode at Winchester." 

Of course the captain demurred at the idea of taking so valuable a 
relic. John Sheridan, however, insisted that he could have it just as 
well as not. The saddle — a regulation McClellan stock, with worn 
military trappings, well-covered with dust, and bearing the marks of 
hard usage — was brought out. One of the stirrups was missing, to be 
found after some search. The saddle was really needed, but Captain 
Greiner was very much averse to taking what he deemed the soldier's, 
parents would prize so highly. He finally said : 

'* It seems to me that you ought to keep this saddle, Mr. Sheridan. 
If one of my boys had played such a great part in the war and had 
made such a famous ride on this saddle as Phil did, no money could 
buy it of me." 

" Oh, as to that," said Mr. Sheridan, as he straightened himself up, 
" lam proud enough of Phil, and I'm glad he did his work well. I 
don't care so much about his promotions, nor about those stories and 
poems about his ride. It would have hurt me had he played the cow- 
ard, and I would have felt very mean if he had not turned out well. 
But I don't care for his old hats and swords and for this old saddle, so 
if you want it, you are welcome to it." 

Captain Greiner took the saddle, and it was for a long time in the 
relic room at the capitol at Columbus. It has been at many an army 
reunion, and is now the property of the State of Ohio. 

It must not be supposed that the quaint and self-possessed Irish- 
American, sturdily democratic to the core, was indifferent to the renown 
won by his son, or was careless of the great career that son's genius 
has so splendidly carved. It was the American idea that spoke in 
John Sheridan's words. It was the idea of duty, of manhood, and of 
personal devotion that was regarded, and not the factitious adjuncts or 
relics that received the parental approval. It is this civic quality, also, 
which has won for his son the plaudits of the country-side. This is the 
lesson of American democracy as expressed in citizenship and its 
service. 

Another incident belonging to Sheridan's graduation year illustrates 
the courage and self-possession of the dear old mother, who passed 
away at the age of eighty-seven, while the General himself was struggling 
3 



^4 THE LIFE OF 

with a terrible complication of disorders. John Sheridan, as a railroad 
sub-contractor, had 150 men in his employ. He was absent at the time a 
fatal riot occurred between the railroad hands, numbering in all 600, 
and those of a circus which was exhibiting at Somerset. The first 
day's fighting was a bloody one, and word was sent along the construc- 
tion works for all the laboi^ers to assemble. John Sheridan's men were 
so notified, and came by scores to the rendezvous at Somerset. Mrs. 
Sheridan learned of the disturbance and of the proposed action of her 
husband's workmen. By dint of mingled persuasion and authority she 
succeeded in inducing them all to return to their boarding-houses. 
Tli^ state militia was called out next day to quell the disturbance, but 
the Sheridan men took no part in it. 

The active life of the young soldier began with the close of his 
brief holiday. As brevet second lieutenant he joined a company of the 
First Infontry at Fort Duncan, on the Rio Grande, Texas, where he 
served against Comanche, Lipan, and Apache till early in 1S55, when 
he was made second lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry. In May of 
that year he was in command at Fort Wood, New York Harbor. He 
was then sent with recruits, via Panama, to San Francisco, and on 
arrival there was ordered to Washington Territory. Detailed to com- 
mand of the escort of Lieutenant Williamson, then surveying a railroad 
from the Sacramento River, California, to the Columbia River, Oregon, 
he became topographically familiar with that wonderful region. De- 
tached from this escort duty in September, 1855, at Vancouver, Washing- 
ton Territory, Lieutenant Sheridan was ordered to accompany and com- 
mand a detachment of dragoons in the expedition of Major Raines, of 
the Fourth Infantry, to the Yakima reservation, Oregon, against an 
Indian tribe of that name. He returned to Columbia the same fall. 
His conduct in the fights with the Indians at the Cascades of Columbia 
were speciall}- mentioned as very gallant. 

The great river of Oregon breaks through the Cascade Range, a 
mountain formation which practically divides Oregon into two sections. 
Forty odd miles east of the Cascades the Columbia makes, by "■ turning 
on its edge," what is termed the " Dalles." Sheridan's earliest duty 
was in this region, where settlements had already commenced, menaced, 
though they were, by the constant unfriendliness of the Yakima Indians. 
The pioneers of Oregon have not yet forgotten the scenes which accom- 
panied and followed the outbreak in 1S47, when Dr. Whitman and his 
associates were massacred in the Walla Walla Valley. Sheridan 
arrived in the v/inter of 18^3-4. and entered at once into active and 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



35 




SHERIDAN A DRY GOODS CLERK. 

PRESENT APPEARANCE OF THE OLD STORE AT SOMERSET, OHIO, WHERE LITTLE PHIL " 
STOOD BEHIND THE COUNTER. 

\^From a Recent Pliotograph.'\ 

arduous service, both at post and in the field. In the former, by ser- 
vice as adjutant, commissary, quartermaster, as well as by company 
duty, he acquired that minute knowledge of all militar}' administration 
and details which so early distinguished his army career. 

In the field there was found ample opportunity for Sheridan, subor- 
dinate though he was, to prove the metal of which he was made. Old 
army men who served with the tireless, audacious, restless, daring 
young officer, are never tired of telling of his feats and exploits. An 
interesting fact is that, though an infantrv officer, Sheridan was oftenest 



36 THE LIFE OF 

assigned when in the field to command of a detachment of dragoons. 
On one occasion, in the fall of 1S55, ^'^^ niade a march from Fort Red- 
ding, where he was stationed, to the north side of the Columbia River. 
It was over a very rugged country, passing, in fact, through the famous 
lava beds, where in 1S73, General Canby lost his life at the hands of tlie 
Modoc Indians. Tliis same tribe, whose meagre remnants are now 
settled as poor farmers in the Indian Territory, fired upon Sheridan 
and his detachment during the march in question. No one was 
wounded, however. At Klamath Lake, during the same march, a 
canoe was descried upon a small island. Lieutenant Sheridan, in order 
to secure it and to tind out whether it was evidence of any Indian move- 
ment, with one man swam out to the island and brought back the canoe. 

In command of his dragoon detachment. Lieutenant Sheridan was 
always actively at work. In the fall of 1S55, while at the Dalles, 
one night the long roll was sounded. Information had been received 
of an attack on the block-house and settlement at the Cascades, by 
Yakima Indians. The people were in great peril, as a general massa- 
cre was threatened. Colonel Marcus J. Wright, commanding the Ninth 
Infantry, who had just taken up the line of march for other quarters, 
was hastily informed and recalled. General Wright acquired in this 
way that knowledge of Sheridan's value, which enabled him to truth- 
fully telegraph General Ilalleck some 3'ears after, just previous to the 
Perryville campaign, that he wanted Sheridan, who "was worth his 
weight in gold," ordereil to report to him for duty as brigadier. 

Lieutenant Sheridan at once put his cavalry detachment on board 
the river steamer BclIc, with a handy twelve-pound howitzer. Early 
the next morning the Belle reached the Lower Cascades, being as fin- 
as her regular trips extended. She stopped at a landing made by a 
Mr. Johnson, near Bradford's Island. From this point the Indians 
could be seen in force on the island. Breakfast was ordered at once. 
Sheridan told his men there woidil be S(Miie hard fighting and perhaps 
some killing. Not waiting to learn ^vhat was in progress at the Cas- 
cades settlement, he prepared for an attack upon the Indians on the 
island. This was made on the west side and from the north bank of 
the Columbia River, and his little force was immediately deployed. His 
men were ordered to take advantage of every cover, and to fire only 
when they could see the Indians. In this way the small force advanced 
slowly in skirmishing order. Sheridan's orderly, an Irishman named 
!McGravv, soon shouted out that he saw an Indian. He fell dead imme- 
diately, shot in the mouth which he had just used so unwisely. A 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 37 

volley was drawn on the advancing detachment by the injudicions 
shout. Greatly outnumbered, Sheridan, having removed IVIcGraw's 
body to the rear, commenced a slow retreat, firing rapidly as he fell 
back. At the shore he brought into play the howitzer that his fore- 
sight had caused him to place on the steamboat. The Indians were 
checked and finally fell back. McGraw was our only loss. In the 
evening Sheridan drew off his dragoons to the Belle^ keeping steam 
up, and preserving a vigilant watch. His handful of men were greatly 
outnumbered, and he was unable to take more aggressive action. 

The Indians remained quiet during the night. At early dawn a 
whale-boat was obtained and the detachment embarked, making its way 
up stream to Bradford's Island. They found Colonel Wright with several 
companies of the Ninth Infantry, having made a forced march, busily 
engaged with tlie Indians. The latter soon commenced to run, tak- 
ing flight in canoes and by swimming to the south side of the river. 
The dragoons under Sheridan were at once sent to the block-house, 
where they remained a sliort time, and then returned to the Lower Cas- 
cades, where they remained a few weeks, until relieved by a company 
of the Ninth Infantry. 

It was a brief but stirring Indian campaign. General Wool, com- 
manding the department, arrived on the field and took command in 
person. At its close, the old soldier predicted that the young lieuten- 
ant would some day be a colonel. For his services in this campaign 
Sheridan received the thanks of General Scott, being named in general 
orders and breveted first lieutenant, — a promotion that like all he has 
won, was the result of service in the field and hard fighting. 

Another expedition in which Lieutenant Sheridan took part, again 
entered the Yakima country. While so engaged, he was ordered, on 
one occasion, to cross a stream in order to scout against Indians supposed 
to be on the opposite shore. This order was executed by placing an 
infantry sharpshooter behind the saddle of each cavalryman. The 
stream was not deep, but rapid, and two artillerymen who followed with 
the howitzer, were drowned in crossing. No Indians were found, how- 
ever. A Cayuse scout employed by vSheridan on this expedition was 
known as Cut-Mouth John, and on one occasion an Indian called out 
to him to know if he would " talk." John replied, ferociously, " I'll 
kill you first and talk afterward." He was as good as his word and got 
his enemy's scalp, which he stretched that night, having a little dance 
around it by himself. John used to be on good terms with all the 
officers, but wlien Major Raines, afterward in the Confederate army. 



38 



THE LIFE OF 



ordered him to bury that scalp, he sulked, and had nothing more to do 
with them. The Indian he slew was the only one known to be killed 
on this expedition. 

On arriving at Yakima Mission, orders were received to proceed 
with Colonel Nesmith and a party of volunteers toward White River 
or Natchez Pass. Nesmith was afterward United States Senator from 
Oregon. Major Maloney was supposed to be coming from Fort Steila- 
coom, on Puget Sound, to hem in the Indians from the north. It was 
snowing furiously, and the dragoons crossed Bald Hill in a cold storm. 
Lieutenant Sheridan and all his men being compelled to dismount and 
lead the horses. Further progress being impossible, and Major Malo- 
ney not being met, the command returned to the Dalles and camped on 
Mill Creek in tents. The dragoons were camped a short distance above 
the fort, which was rebuilding under Captain Jordan. This officer 
afterward became historically noted as General Beauregard's chief of 
staff'. Major Haller was in command of the post. The Indian disturb- 
ances were continued sporadically for two or three years, without any 
results more serious than the fears of the settlers in Oregon and Southern 
Washington, or of the necessary activity of the small body of regulars 
stationed in that section of our national domain. Captain U. S. Grant 
was among the officers stationed in the same department, but the two 
soldiers who were afterward to be so nobly associated together, did not 
meet during the three years of their service in that frontier military com- 
mand. 

The service on the Pacific coast illustrates the methods that controlled 
the War Department and army headquarters for at least two decades 
preceding the outbreak of civil war. There is no reason to doubt 
that prominent southern leaders had brought their minds to the convic- 
tion that an armed conflict " between the states " was bound to come 
over the question of slavery. The history of the Kansas sti'uggle is 
sufficient to prove this ; but to the historical student it will be much 
more clearly shown in the administration of two great branches of gov- 
ernment which seriously molded the conditions of life in the then almost 
unknown West, from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. In the 
twenty years indicated, that is, from 1S40 to i860, there will not be 
found the names of over a score of northern born men appointed to 
positions as Indian agents, or other important places connected with 
that service. Of that score not a half dozen can be named who were 
in sympathy with free soil ideas. In the Kansas struggle there was but 
one such man. Agent Gay, of the Shawnee tribe, and he was killed 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



39 





THE OUTBREAK OF THE REBELLION. 



THE ATTACK ON SUMTER. 



early in that conflict. ■ As with the Indian service, so with that of the 
army administration. During the control of the War Department by 
Jeflerson Davis and John B. Floyd, it will be found that the regular 
army and its officers were so stationed and employed as to throw the 
younger men, those unknown beyond their commands, and those of 
northern birth who might be reasonably considered as loyal to the Union, 
far from the field of probable operations, and at posts where they could 
be of the least service. Officers, on the other hand, who by birth and 
social conditions were likelv to be drawn at once to the South, were 
retained in posts and departments which would render them immedi- 
ately available for the purposes of disunion. An illustration of this 
was seen in the re-organization by Jeflerson Davis while Secretary of 
War, of the famous Second Regiment of Cavalry. A roster of this 
regiment, as officered by Mr. Davis, will show such names as Robert 
E. Lee, Longstreet, Albert Sidney Johnston, Anderson, Philip St. 
George Cooke, Stein, George H. Thomas, Sturgis, and others. Of the 
forty odd picked officers who were in this favored organization there 
were not over half a dozen of northern birth. Only as many remained 



40 THE LIFE OF 

faithful to the flag after Sumter was fired upon, and among these was 
the immortal Virginian patriot and soldier, George H. Thomas, who 
was senior major of the Second Cavalry when rebellion began. He 
was stationed at a western fort in the Indian Territory. Sturgis was 
at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Both officers brought their commands into 
the Union lines. In the central territories there was some disaffection, 
but the loyalty of the rank and Hie saved the public property and terri- 
tory. Colonel Canby at Santa Fe, held the southwest territories. 
The loyal volunteers of Colorado held the centre, and to the northwest 
as far as the Pacific there w^as scarcely any disaffection. Longstreet, 
Jordan, Ewell, and a few others made their way to the Confederacy 
through Arizona and New Mexico. The far-reaching nature of the 
plot by whif h the free states and territories were to be rendered help- 
less can be seen in the fact that Fort Kearney, Nebraska, then an iso- 
lated and vmimportant post out on the great plains, was made for nearly 
or quite a tw^elve months before, an entrepoi to which, under orders from 
the War Department, arms of all kinds, ordnance supplies, munitions 
and stores of all sorts, with wagons, artillery carriages, etc., were sent 
from the various army posts east as far as Fort Leavenworth and west 
as far as California and Oregon. So also Fort Wise on the southwest 
border of Kansas Territory, was used. Its site is now known as Fort 
Lyon. The march of Major Sedgwick, afterward the gallant com- 
mander of the famous Fifth Army Corps, saved the stores and arms at 
Fort Wise. Those at Fort Kearney were saved by the prompt and loyal 
courage of an orderly sergeant, afterwards a lieutenant-colonel of 
volunteers. Sergeant Schultze — he is a German-American and 
served in Captain Nathaniel B. Lyon's command, Company B, Sec- 
ond Infantry — resisted the efforts of a party of deserting officers to 
carry off the guns and munitions stored at Fort Kearney. There were 
nearly one hundred twelve-pound howitzers massed at this point. They 
were left to the care of a handful of soldiers under an ordnance ser- 
geant. All the frontier troops in the early summer of iS6i were 
ordered to concentrate at Fort Leavenworth and at Omaha, from the 
posts on the plains and among the Rockies. Sergeant Schultze arrived 
at the same time that the southern army officers reached Fort Kearney. 
Bv a bold appeal to his men and a determined front on the soldiers' 
part, the ffeeing officers decided that their safety was to be found in 
a more rapid flight. 

These incidents of the early days of the war " out West " are neces- 
sary to make clear the reason why officers like Sheridan were not sooner 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 41 

ordered into the scenes of great military activity. It became necessary 
to make quite sure of our Pacific coast before the much needed and 
well-trained regular officers who were stationed there could be relieved. 

The Pacific coast officers, though removed from the scene of hostili- 
ties when the war broke out, had plenty of patriotic ardor. General 
Sumner, who arrived at San Francisco early in June, as department 
commander, issued an order that " all officers charijed with the care of 
public propert}' will hold themselves in readiness at all times to protect 
it at any hazard. No public property will be surrendered in this depart- 
ment" ; and on the heels of this order came another, that " any citizen 
in the employment of the army in this department who is opposed to 
the Union will be instantly discharged." This was the spirit of the 
army administration out there. It was efiicient in covering the real 
intentions of the general government, through which the loyal Pacific 
States and Territories finally took almost entire charge of their own 
defense, organizing an army or National Guard of volunteer militia in 
California and Oregon, fully equipped by the general government. The 
"regulars" stationed there were all kept busy till the close of 1861, assist- 
ing in the organization indicated. The story of the Civil War from the 
Missouri to the Pacific coast remains to be told, but an incident thereof 
was the delaying of vSheridan's transfer to a more active field. 

In October, 1861, Brevet First Lieutenant Sheridan was commis- 
sioned captain in the Thirteenth Infantry, and soon after ordered to re- 
port to General Halleck at St. Louis for assignment to duty. He 
arrived there late in the year, and at the beginning of the New Year 
was ordered to report to Brigadier Samuel R. Curtis for duty in the 
field as chief quartermaster and commissary of the Army of South- 
west Missouri, then in camp at Springfield, and preparing for a forward 
movement to the southwest against the Confederate troops of Missouri, 
Arkansas, Northern Louisiana, and Texas, then concentrating in the 
Ozark Mountains under Sterling Price, Van Dorn, Ben McCullough, 
Raines, Marmaduke, Fagan, and Albeit Pike, among others who after- 
wards became distinguished. On the 3d of January, 1S63, General 
S. R. Curtis reported from Rollo to department headquarters at St. 
Louis, that Captain Sheridan had reported and been assigned to duty. 
Staft-officers and others associated with Captain Sheridan in that army 
recall his indomitable, tireless activity and administrative ability. His 
post was no sinecure, but on the contrary bore in its execution far more 
than the usual burden of difficulties accompanying such important 
branches of military organization. West of the Missouri, the Union 



42 THE LIFE OF 

forces were, from the beginning- till the close of the war, more ineffi- 
ciently and poorly supplied than was elsewhere the case. The State of 
Missouri, especially its western and southwestern portions, was in- 
tensely disloyal. The Kansas conflict had embittered the people, free soil 
and pro-slavery, to the utmost. It was hard work to keep the Kansas 
volunteers within bounds on the soil of Missouri. It was far harder 
work to make the southern sympathizers resident in Missouri under- 
stand the laws of war. They were generally ready to turn bush- 
whackers on the slightest opportunity, and on all occasions, within or 
without the lines of the Federal forces, were utterly unscrupulous 
enemies of the Union. There was a phrase in use out there which 
humorously embodied the bitter antagonism felt towards a policy 
that tlealt with the people of the border states, especially those of 
Missouri, as loval citizens. It was applied generally to the Kan- 
sas \()lunteers, who were commonlv known and sneered at for the 
first two years of tlie war as " Jayhawkers." The conservative regular 
army officers, especially, cherished bitter prejudices against the soldiers 
of that state with whom they came in contact, no matter how soldierly 
and valorous were their conduct or acts. The term " javhawker " 
was originally applied to the Seventh Regiment (cavalry) of Kansas 
Volunteers, whom Fremont first assigneil to duty in Western Missouri 
with orders to live on the country. That term thus came to represent 
a distinct view of army policy. In the east the opposite view was 
taken by McClellan ; in the centre by Buell and Rosecrans, and in the 
west to some extent by Hallcck. General Curtis was a graduate of 
West Point, who early in his army life had resigned to practice law. 
lie settled in Iowa, and was sent to Congress from the Keokuk district 
as a Republican. He was an intimate friend of Mr. Lincoln's. At 
the beginning of the Civil War, he entered the army again. Ilalleck 
assigned him to the command of the army which was to be the right 
wing of the great field wherein he proposed to operate, extending from 
Western Arkansas to Northern Georgia. 

With a meagre army chest and insufficient supplies. General Curtis, 
knowing that if he did not make use of the stock, grain, etc., to be 
foiunl in Southwest Missouri the rebel guerrillas and cavalry raiders 
would do so, onlereil his chief quartermaster to supply deficiencies 
from the country so far as possible, and to give vouchers therefor, pay- 
able on proof of the bearer's loyalty. Captain Sheridan demurred to 
this policv, which he called "■ iayhawking," and at last made his oppo- 
sition so obnoxious, that when General Curtis finallv began the forward 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 4^ 

movements and field operations which eventuated in the hard-fought 
battle and victory of Pea Ridge, in the march across Arkansas, and in 
the capture and occupation of Helena on the Mississippi as an import- 
ant basis among others for the great operations by which, a year later, 
the " Father of Waters " was allowed " to run unvexed to the sea," 
that commander felt himself obliged to relieve Captain Sheridan and 
order him to report to General Halleck at St. Louis for duty. This 
apparent slight became the turning point in the young soldier's famous 
career. He was taken by Halleck to the army before Corinth as chief 
commissary, and in that way came again under the notice of the cavalry 
commander, General Stanley, by whose suggestion he was appointed 
colonel of the Second Michigan Cavalry, just one month after he 
arrived in Northern Mississippi. As for his conservative antagonism to 
" jayhawking," it vanished when he entered on cavalry service. The 
Captain Sheridan who resisted in Southwest Missouri, early in 1862, 
the policy of the commander on whose staftTie served, blossomed under 
the conditions of the war into the stern general, who, in. 1864, declared 
while fighting in the Shenandoah Valley, that he " proposed to make 
it so bare that a crow flying over it would have to carry his rations." 

An incident of Sheridan's quartermaster service in Southwest 
Missouri, told after the war in Hotisehold Words ^ a magazine that 
preceded Scribnc)''' s^ deserves a brief mention here, as it illustrates 
Sheridan's character and courage. An army wagon with its team was 
stalled on the road some distance south of Springfield. The teamster, 
a burly six-footer, was engaged in brutally whipping his mules. Riding 
near by on the left of the road was a stout but low-statured man, clad in a 
fatigue suit of army blue, without any insignia of rank or staff buttons, 
and wearing a battered army hat. He drew rein at the stalled wagon, 
and in a few moments asked the teamster autlioritatively , why he beat the 
mules so severely. The rufiian replied with a savage oath, and imme- 
diately struck the near animal with the heavy butt of his " black-jack." 
as the wagoner's whip is called. To a shout from the horseman the 
burly teamster replied with a threat to serve him the same way. An 
eye-witness, who wrote the magazine article, says that the threat was 
scarcely made before the rider shot from his saddle, for all the world 
like a stone projected from a catajDult, and in a second was at the ruf- 
fian's throat. It was seen that this assailant was a smaller man, but 
somehow he brought the big teamster at once to his knees, and poured 
upon his head, neck, and chest sucli a rain of savage blows, ending in 
twisting the whip out of the man's Ir.ind and applying it vigorously 



44 GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 

over arms and shoulders, until the fellow fairly blubbered for mercy. 
His assailant let him up, applying a vigorous kick as he arose. "Who 
the tlevil are you .'' " asked the amazed and cowed bully. 

" Captain Sheridan, quartermaster of this army, and if you don't 

get to work d quick to get this wagon out of the way, by , 

I'll thrash you again." 

It is needles!^ to say that the man went to work under Sheridan's 
orders. The mules had recovered their strength. In a few minutes 
the team antl wagon were on tlie dry road. \Vith a parting admonition 
and objurgation, " Little Phil" mounted his patient horse, which had 
watched the rencounter with seeming approval, and rode away. 

Captain Sheridan's experiences with the army of Southwest Mis- 
souri, though not altogether satisfactory to him at the time, must 
have been productive of fruitful knowledge. General Curtis, speaking 
of his whilom quartermaster, when the latter was rising so rapidly to 
the zenith of his fame, declared that Captain Sheridan was one of the 
ablest and mo§t indefatigable of stall' oihcers. No labor was too great, 
no exertion too severe for him to undertake in the line of duty. But 
his prejudices were as stubborn as his independence was marked. He 
allowed nothing for anyone's superior knowledge of the region, and in 
the matter of their differences as to the impressment of stock, etc., was 
so determined in his opposition as to compel General Curtis, much to 
his regret, to relieve his rather insuboj'dinate subordinate from duty on 
the staff, and order him to St. Louis. In a personal letter to the de- 
partment commander. General Curtis strongly urged Captain Sheridan's 
assignment to active field service, assured that he would win renown 
for himself and credit to the cause. As to the policy of making war, 
Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley carried out the course indicated by 
Curtis nearly three years before, only the younger and greater soldier 
made it more sweeping and rigorous. 



Chapter IV. 



AN UNEXPECTED PROMOTION. 

HOW SHERIDAN WAS MADE A COLONEL — CAPTAIN ALGEK's RIDE AND ITS RE- 
SULTS — CORINTH AND PITTSBURG LANDING — GOVERNOR BLAIR's HESI- 
TANCY THE APPOINTMENT NOTIFIED OF HIS ADVANCEMENT SATIS- 
FIED WITH THE RANK OF COLONEL TAKES COMMAND OF HIS REGI- 
MENT ITS FIRST IMPRESSION OF HIM. 

When the Civil War had been going on for more than a year, 
Sheridan was still an issuer of rations with only the rank of captain. 
Had not General Grant been relieved of the command of his army 
after the battle of vShiloh, Sheridan might never have left the commis- 
sary department to lead men in battle. It is true that he fretted in the 
position he then held on General Hal leek's staff. He had done the best 
he could to secure the commantl of some regiment from his na tive state, 
but he was then without fame or influence, and for each new regiment 
that was called out in Ohio there were a dozen aspirants for the colo- 
nelcy possessed of social and political influence. This was then a 
potent power as against a pure military training. Therefore Sheridan's 
weeks of application lengthened into months, and the months into a 
second year, before he found work for his military genius higher than 
that of looking after the rough provender which the government jDro- 
vided for its soldiers. 

The 35th of May, 1862, came, and Halleck, an old lawyer gen- 
eral, full of cranks and prejudices, had virtually dug his way in six 
weeks all the way from the fateful field of Shiloh t(^ within gunshot of 
the Confederate outposts at Corinth. Each succeeding mile, from the 
day when Halleck relieved Grant, a new line of earthworks was thrown 
up in this over-cautious advance. Graves of brave men dotted the 
hillsides and valleys, numbering in the aggregate more souls than would 
have been lost in an open combat with the Confederate army, whicli 
was only half the size of that which Halleck had gathered to build 
twenty miles of intrenchments in an approach on Corinth. 

Just after the battle of Shiloh, Pope's army, which had been oper- 



46 THE LIFE OF 

atiiig" on the Mississippi below Island Number Ten, was brought up 
to swell Ilalleck's forces. With it was the Second Michigan Cav- 
alry, and like the other troops, this regiment fretted and grew half 
demoralized with the slow and vmcertain policy which marked Hal- 
leck's operations after Grant's frightful wrestle with Johnston and 
Beauregard on the banks of the Tennessee. Its colonel, Gordon 
Granger, was made a brigadier-general about this time. He was a reg- 
ular army officer, who had been promoted from a captaincy to the com- 
mand of the regiment while it was stationed in St. Louis. His dis- 
cipline was severe, but it made the regiment efficient beyond almost 
any other body of troopers then in the service. 

His advancement left it in a condition to be very soon demoralized. 
During the few weeks which elapsed before a new colonel was found, 
the regiment drifted, under the command of a lieutenant-colonel, into 
that feeling of uncertainty which is harmful to any military body. As 
it lay one evening, in the latter part of May, within cannon-shot of 
the village of Corinth, its fate was dependent upon the choice of a 
strong hand and a new spirit to command it. 

On one of those hazy, depressing summer days so common in the 
southern climate. Captain Russell A. Alger, of Company C, was act- 
ing field officer of the day. He always took an active interest in the 
regiment's welfare. Often with the other officers had he discussed, 
without solution, the problem of finding a new colonel for a com- 
mand, the record of which was then, and is, second to that of no regi- 
ment of horse in the army. Austin Blair was at that time governor of 
Michigan, anil at the moment was visiting the arm}-. He was to return 
home the very day when the accident occurred which gave him an 
opportunity to do a meritorious act, and endow with new force the cav- 
alry regiment from his state, in which he took unusual interest. 

Captain Alger had been on picket duty throughout the night of 
the 24th of May. Early on the morning of the 25th, he reported to Gen- 
eral Gordon Granger upon some matters of detail, which it was his 
duty to do as acting field-officer of the day in front of an enemy. After 
the business of the moment was over, the condition of the Second 
Michigan Cavalry became the subject of discussion. General Granger, 
who still took an interest in its welfore, had been casting about for some 
regular army officer who would be his fit successor at the head of this 
splendid regiment. He had been over to Halleck's headquarters the 
dav before Captain Alger's visit, and had met Sheridan. This morn- 
iiiii-. as he and Alger were talking, he said : 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



47 



" I have found 
a man who will 
make your regi- 
ment a good colo- 
nel." 

" Who is it?" 
asked Alger, earn- 
estly. 

"Captain Phil 
Sheridan. He is 
now at Halleck's 
headquarters, act- 
ing as a commis- 
sary on his staff." 
A shade of in- 
quiry crossed Gen- 
eral Granger's 
countenance, as he 
said : 

" He is just the 
man you want ; 
but Idoubtwheth- 

er Governor Blair ^^^ GORDON GRANGER. 

will commission 

another regular officer to command a Michigan regiment. He thinks 

that we are too severe in our discipline, and that the troops do not like 

us. 

Captain Alger replied that the regiment needed a commander of 
character and decision, and that he believed Blair would do anv rea- 
sonable thing for the welfare of the troops from his state. 

_ " Very well," replied General Granger, "I will give you a letter to 
him, asking Sheridan's appointment. He is now at Pittsburo- Land- 
ing, and leaves for the North by the steamer at 2 o'clock." 

It was now breakfost time. Governor Blair was more than twenty 
miles away, and there was no time to be lost. General Granger called 
an orderly, had Captain Alger's horse fed, and insisted on his takino- his 
morning meal with him. During breakfast the subject of Captain 
Sheridan's appointment was earnestly discussed. Before they had 
finished the meal Lieutenant Frank E. Walbridge, auartermaster of 
the Second Michigan Cavalry, rode up. Captain Alger asked permis- 
sion to take him with him for his interview with Governor Blair 




48 



THE LIFE OF 



General Granger assented, and the two officers prepared for the journey. 
It was ahnost half-past nine in the morning when, armed with an 
earnest request for Sheridan's appointment, they left the front of the 
Federal lines and rode toward Pittsburg Landing. Captain Alger, who 
afterwards became a brigadier-general, has frequently spoken of the 
anxieties of that ride, when he must have recalled something like the 
lines : 

" Ho, pony! down the lonely road, 
Strike now your cheeriest pace ; 
Camp-fires cannot burn brighter 
Than burns my anxious face." 

As each mile was passed, the hour for the governor's departure 
drew nearer and nearer. It was only thirty-five minutes before 2 
o'clock when Alger and his companion reached the landing. In less 
than half an hour of the leaving time of the boat. General Granger's 
letter was placed in Governor Blair's hands. 

As General Granger had foreseen, the governor hesitated. He dis- 
liked the severity of regular army officers, and thought their influence 
over volunteers was harmful, rather than effective. The condition 
of the regiment was described by Captain Alger in a few words, and 
both he and Lieutenant Walbridge strongly urged the force of General 
Granger's recommendation. The governor, impressed with their earn- 
estness, yielded to their arguments, and just a few moments before the 
boat which was to convey him to Michigan started, he turned to Gen- 
eral John Robertson, his adjutant-general, and said : 

"Write an order appointing Captain Sheridan colonel of the Sec- 
ond Michigan Cavalry, to take command at once." 

Only a few moments were left for the adjutant-general to act. He 
took a half sheet of note paper, and hurriedly wrote these words : 

Pittsburg Landing, May 25,1862. 
Captain Philip H. Sheridan is hereby appointed colonel of the 
Second Michigan Cavalry. He is directed to take command at once. 

Austin Blair, Governor. 

This was handed to Captain Alger ; the boat pushed out into the 
Tennessee, and a great soldier had been started on his way to fame. 

Captain Alger and Lieutenant Walbridge fed themselves and their 
horses, and as the gathering shadows of night drew over the battle-field 
of Shiloh, they started for an all night's ride toward the front. It was 
near daylight when they arrived. The exertion killed Alger's horse. 
Mounting another, he rode to General Granger's headquarters and 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 49 

announced to that officer that he had Captain vSheridan's appointment 
in his pocket. 

General Granger directed him to carry it to Sheridan, who was some 
two miles distant at Halleck's headquarters. Alger obeyed, and a 
half hour later met for the first time his new colonel and the future 
general. He presented him with his appointment, and Phil Sheridan 
was that morning the happiest man in the whole of Halleck's army. 
The colonelcy which Ohio did not give her own son, Michigan had 
provided. The officers of the staff were at once summoned to cele- 
brate the occasion. As the officers drank their bumpers in his tent to 
his good luck, there was an interesting scene. One brother officer of 
the staff', more enthusiastic than the rest, pledged the new colonel's 
health with the toast : 

" Here's hoping that this is a lon^ step towards a brigadier's star." 

How little men know of themselves ! Sheridan, flushed with the 
joy of the occasion, replied : 

" No, gentlemen ; I thank you for yovu" good wishes, but I want nO' 
higher honor. I am now a colonel of cavalry, and have all the rank 1 
want or expect." 

The news of his appointment spread rapidly through the regiment, 
and eveiy one wondered what manner of man the new colonel was. 
They very soon found out. The next day he came over and took com- 
mand, and was introduced to a regiment, the officers and men of which 
he had never seen before. He appeared at dress parade, and his appear- 
ance by no means revealed his ability. He was then very slight in 
figure, with little, short legs that hardly reached over his horse's sides, 
and quite broad shoulders. He was so small that he could scarcely 
be seen from one end of the regiment to the other. The first impres- 
sion he made w^as not very satisfactory to either officers or men. Two 
days later he started oft' on a raid to Booneville, Mississippi, and proved 
his quality. The regiment at once took new life under his direction. 
Both officers and men felt perfect confidence in him, and in less than 
four days after his appointment thfe soldiers named him " Little Phil." 
They always afterwards felt an unbounded pride in their commander. 
He was made a brigadier-general before he had received his commis- 
sion as colonel ; in fact, he was not commissioned as colonel of the 
Second Michigan Cavalry until after the war. While he was in com- 
mand at New Orleans, the commission was issued to him by the gov- 
ernor as a matter of sentiment. At a much later period, to make his 
army record complete, he was mustered in as the colonel of his old 
regiment. 

4 




PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 



[From a War-Time Photograph.] 



Chapter V. 



THE BATTLE OF BOONEVILLE. 

SHERIDAN'S FIRST BATTLE — IT WAS AT BOONEVILLE, MISSISSIPPI — STRENGTH 
OF HIS COMMAND — ITS PERILOUS POSITION — HOW HE MANAGED HIS TROOPS 
SENDING FOR REINFORCEMENTS — THE SCOUT AND THE NEGRO FOOL- 
ING THE ENEMY CAPTAIN ALGER AND THE "FORLORN HOPE" — THE 

LAST CHARGE, AND A COMPLETE VICTORY. 

" The enemy has ten regiments under Chalmers. I want support, 
particularly ailillery. I have been cut up some little, but am still strong." 

This was Sheridan's first appeal in a grave emergency. He met it 
with a fearlessness and show of military sagacity that thus early in war 
demonstrated his fitness for high command. He was only a colonel 
then and had led the Second Michigan Cavalry but little more than a 
month, when suddenly called upon to meet the serious responsibilities 
■of a battle under as exacting conditions as were ever imposed upon a 
soldier. 

It was 2.30 in the afternoon of July i, 1863, when he sent the 
above dispatch to General Asboth, his division commander. He had 
then been fighting against overwhelming odds since early morning. 
At 3 o'clock, as the combat waxed more intense, he hastily penned this 
message to the same authority : 

" I have been holding a large force of the enemy prisoners — say 
ten regiments in all — all day. Am considerably cut up, but am hold- 
ing my camp." 

These were the first echoes from a desperate combat that reached 
the larger army twenty miles in the rear. 

It has been truly said that " mighty events turn upon small hinges." 
Sheridan's first experience as an independent commander illustrates the 
truth of this adage. His primary test in the stroke and strategy of battle 
gave decisive promise of that inspiration in danger and fertility of 
resource which, in the short space of two years, placed him in the lead 
among the group that achieved greatness during the Civil War. It was 



p THE LIFE OF 

in the second year of the Rebellion — the acute stage of the colossal 
struggle : the awful " battle summer of 1S63 " — that Sheridan emerged 
from the obscurity of staft" duty into the stirring arena of command and 
combat. 

There was a pause in the death grapple of the contending armies of 
Halleck and Beauregard when Sheridan was appointed colonel of the 
Second Michigan Cavalry. McClellan was then before Richmond. 
Halleck was preparing a new campaign. The eyes of the world were 
watching the Chickahominy, while the Western armies for the moment 
were inactive. The new colonel found his regiment well trained, and 
composed of stalwart men, -skilled in woodcraft and inured to the 
hardships of open-air life. The man and the instrument were well 
suited to each other and the dangerous work before them. 

Sheridan was no sooner in command than he was in the saddle and 
taking part in an adventurous errand. Two days after he was made a 
colonel, he, with his regiment, joined an expedition under Colonel 
W. L. Elliott, of the Second Iowa Cavalry. These two regiments cut 
loose from the main army and pushed southward, to the rear of the Con- 
federate lines. With but little halt or rest, this small command scoured 
the debatable land between the armies. It harassed the Confederate 
outposts, tore up the Mobile and Ohio railway, and burned supplies at 
Booneville, Mississippi, clearing the country for future operations. 
This was the first successful raid of the war. 

The cavalry is called the eye of the army. Sheridan made his the 
right arm, as well. In a short time after his promotion his irresistible 
dash and ceaseless activity was the talk of the meagre force of horse- 
men attached to the army before Corinth, to whom he was a wonder. 
Shortly after his first promotion, Beauregard's army fell back, leaving 
Halleck free to concentrate his forces in the Confederate stronghold. 
Following the retreating enem}', Sheridan found himself again at 
Booneville. On the ist of Jvily, 1863, he v\^as encamped there, while 
the main body of the Confederates lay at Tupelo and Guntown, fifteen 
miles or more to the southward. 

The sluggish advance of Halleck's army left Sheridan's force isolated. 
Though nominally in command of the Second Brigade of the cavalry 
division, his force at Booneville consisted of but eleven companies of the 
Second Michigan and eleven of the Second Iowa — in all, about seven 
hundred and forty men. With the main army imder Halleck twenty 
miles in the rear, and Beauregard about the same distance in front, 
Sheridan operated in a hostile country, watching and reporting every 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. ^^ 

movement of the enemy, and making his map of the country as he 
marched. 

Booneville is a small town on the Mobile and Ohio railway. Sit- 
uated at the conjunction of three or four convei'ging highways, it was a 
natural vantage point, the value of which the enemy promptly acknowl- 
eged by the effort he made to dislodge Sheridan and his handful of cavalry . 
None but the most audacious would, under the circumstances, have 
dreamed of holding the place unless assured of a large command. 
There were deep woods which covered the rolling hills on the imme- 
diate outskirts of the place, while beyond, cleared plantations gave the 
enemy admirable ground for deploying lines of battle and surrovmding 
the town. 

Beauregard was not slow in discerning the poverty- of the force 
intrusted with such important functions as holding forty miles of debat- 
able territory. So long as Sheridan held Booneville, many miles of 
country with abundant supplies and many needed railway facilities were 
cut off' from his control. Sheridan's forces, his resources, to the minutest 
detail, were known to the southern commander, for every man in the 
country was an emissary of his cause. Taking prompt advantage of 
the situation. General Chalmers — a man destined to be well known in 
war and politics afterwards — was placed at the head of eight regi- 
ments of cavalry, with orders to clear the country of Sheridan's meagre 
force. 

He made an energetic attempt to execute these orders. The dis- 
patches above quoted show the spirit with which that attempt was 
resisted. 

Telegrams like these were something new at headquarters at the 
time, and though momentous movements under Rosecrans, Grant, and 
Sherman were going on, the outcome of Sheridan's first fight was 
watched with eager interest by Halleck, and the result thought im- 
portant enough to be telegraphed to President Lincoln. But no 
soldiers ever better deserved commendation than did this little band for 
the heroic work of that day. 

Unable to retreat and almost hopeless of success, Sheridan when 
attacked, made his dispositions with almost preternatural foresight. The 
enemy was at least four thousand strong. To strike this large force e7i 
masse would have been certain defeat. That was not the new colonel's 
plan. He strengthened the picket posts on the several roads leading 
into Booneville and then held the main body in hand to await Chalmers' 
attack. This fell early in the day upon Lieutenant Scranton, of the 



^4 THE LIFE OF 

Second Michigan, who commanded the outpost on the Blackland road, 
three miles and a half from the town. Although set upon by ten times 
their number, the pickets fought for every inch of the ground, falling 
back so slowly that the enemy supposed they had come upon a much 
larger force than they had expected. 

vScranton's men had retreated a mile or more to a point where the 
road the enemy were advancing on intersected another. Here Sheri- 
dan had reinforcements at hand, and, under cover of a natural barri- 
cade, the attacking force was brought to a halt. The contest became 
stubborn and the fighting superb, but finding the Confederates gaining 
ground, three more companies were sent to the point, under command 
of Captain Campbell, also of the Second Michigan. Confident now 
that the Union force was at bay, Chalmers deployed two regiments on 
the right of the road. This imposing line overlapped the Union front so 
far that by merely curving the wings inward, the whole force would 
have been surrounded. Sheridan saw the danger. He quickly sent 
word to Captain Campbell to hold the ground at all hazards until he 
could be reinforced, but if pushed beyond endurance to fall back slowly. 
Colonel Hatch, of the Second Iowa, was then sent quickly to Camp- 
bell's support and was ordered to charge the enemy wherever he could 
strike him best. Meanwhile the Michigan men were engaged in a terri- 
ble and uncertain combat. In the open field the gray-coated horsemen 
in well-closed ranks, waited vmtil the skirmishers had driven the Union 
troops well together, then, with shouts, they swept down, each man 
eager to be first in at the capture. 

The sorely pressed Federals were ordered to reserve their fire until 
the enemy was within twenty-five or thirty yards' range, and well did 
they obey this command. On came the solid Confederate battalions, 
certain of victory, and the order to surrender was ringing out. A storm 
of bullets which withered the first line, was the reply. Another and 
another followed, for the smallness of the Union force was, to some 
extent, made up by their efficient Colt's revolving rifles, which carried 
five shots without reloading, and in the hands of good marksmen wei"e 
full of death. 

In this onset they were so well used that the charge was stayed. 
But the columns v^^ere soon re-formed, and the Confederate commander 
closed up his lines and brought them on the flank of the struggling 
Wolverenes. Still fighting, inch by inch, they fell slowly back, keeping 
at bay the overwhelming enemy. Again Chalmers threw his regi- 
ments in line and charged with wild yells as of assured victory. But 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



SS 



•r 







he was again beat- 
en oft', and the 
Union men hav- 
ing no time to re- 
load, used their 
guns as clubs to 
ward off their 
over-confident en- 
emies. It was a 
desperate mo- 
ment. Sheer 
weight of num- 
bers must have 
gained the covet- 
ed road and cap- 
tured the indomit- 
able defenders 
had Sheridan not 
now sent in an- 
other timely sup- 
ply of men from 
his slender line. 

The combat be- 
gan again. It had 

lasted from daylight. It was now afternoon. Angered by the obsti- 
nacy of his opponents, Chalmers now made a wide sweep and came 
in on the left of the Union camp, almost within gun-shot of the tents. 
There was no sign of reinforcements by rail, for which Sheridan had 
asked. There was hardly a hope of holding out another hour against 
such disproportionate numbers. Still there was no thought of giving 
up, and the young colonel resolved " to eke out the lion's skin with 
the fox's tail." But his resources were wofully slender tor either valor 
or strategy ; yet, meagre as they were, they sufficed him. While 2,000 
Confederates were besetting the 400 men on the Blackland road, and 
2,000 more were swinging into line at the very gates of the camp on 
the east, Sheridan hurried to the tent of Captain Alg^r, who was 
lying sick with camp fever. The situation was made known to him 
and he was asked if he would take charge of a desperate venture. He 
readily agreed to do his share in the crisis, and never did soldier do 
his duty better. 



GEN. J. R. CHALMERS, OF MISSISSIPPI. 



56 



THE LIFE OF 



Sheridan had aheady parked his wagon train on the low groinid to 
the'^west and north of the town, and prepared for a last despei^ate stand. 
Besides this, he had hurried two companies into line, one from the 
Second Michigan and one from the Second Iowa. There were ninety- 
two men in all in this little band, which he intrusted to Captain Alger 
upon as mad an exploit as was ever known in ^var. To better inspire the 
men with the spirit of rivalry, he had taken one company from each reg- 
iment in his command, instead of taking both companies from the same 
regiment. When Alger was mounted, Sheridan directed him to move 
oft' to the right and strike the enemy in the rear. To this officer he 
spoke privately of the desperate risks to be taken, and indicated the 
exact moment at which he should strike the rear of the enemy. He 
was to leave Booneville by a wood road rvmning westward. After a 
mile or more, he would reach a point in a covered lane where an old 
negro w^ould be found to guide him to the point of attack. Sheridan's 
instructions were so minute, and he showed such perfect familiarity with 
the country, that he inspired unusual confidence in the officer to whom 
he had intrusted this dangerous errand. 

Thus early in Sheridan's career, did he give evidence of that won- 
derful power which is the keynote to his success as a soldier. Short as 
had been his stay in Booneville, he knew more of the country than the 
rebels themselves. Like Napoleon, he made it his first duty to memo- 
rize every foot of the territory that he might be called upon to defend 
or contest. All capable soldiers do this to a greater or less extent, but 
some have the geographical faculty better developed than others. 
Sheridan, as all his campaigns attest, had this important gift. He had 
not been twenty-four hours at Booneville before he had mapped in his 
mind every road, lane, farm, hill, or natural impediment that might 
play an important part in action. It was during a visit to the neighbor- 
hood of Waterloo, long before he confronted Napoleon, that Wellington 
owed his escape from the French after his defeat at Quatre Bras. Given 
eqxial numbers in combat, the man who knows his map best is almost 
certain to win the battle. Sheridan knew his by heart. He knew the 
character of the people and the nature of all his surroundings. The 
attack he was now called upon to resist, found him thoroughly equipped 
with every possible resource, except men, that the craft and energy of 
a soldier could command. 

Besides a thorough knowledge of the country, he had a trusty scout 
who lived in the neighborhood — a light-complexioned, long-haired 
Mississippian, with a keen eye and cadaverous form. Reticent and 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. ^7 

modest, this,partisan had the confidence of both otiicers and men. To 
him was intrusted the conduct of Captain Alger's "forlorn hope" to 
the rendezvous where the negro waited. Nothing was left to chance. 
Captain Alger knew that the salvation of the whole command depended 
upon his courage, activity, and vigor. Perhaps it was just as well that 
the men did not appreciate the madness of the undertaking. It takes 
more than ordinary courage for ninety-two men to assault 4,000, espe- 
cially when, as in this case, every chance was against them. They were 
to traverse an unknown country by divers roads, through deep woods, 
and they were to meet at the end of the march an overwhelming enemy, 
in the midst of a treacherous population. 

In this fearful emergency tactics and dash were the two important 
requisites of success. There must be no mistake as to the one and no 
lack of the other. As the men moved oft', Sheridan said to Captain 
Alger : 

" Don't dismount your men in any event! Don't deploy them, or 
you will show the enemy the weakness of your force. Charge in column, 
and if possible, come through and join me. When you make the 
assault, shout and make all the noise possible. When I hear you I will 
strike them in front. I have carefully gauged the time, and whether I 
hear from you or not, in one hour I shall charge them." 

There were no cheers as the little band filed oft' through the deserted 
streets ; no outward sign that the sorely pressed commander was taking 
his last desperate chance for success. In the woods to the south and 
east the volleys still rang out defiantly ; but the deliberation of the rebels 
showed that they were confident of capturing the town and its defenders. 
With this possibility staring the " forlorn hope" in the face, it moved 
through the solemn pines, beyond the dark marshes, and over narrow 
plantation roads, the commander and his men impressed with the im- 
portance of the stroke they were to deal. It was an hour of terrible 
suspense, but the scout knows his road, and all comes to pass as 
Sheridan had planned. At the appointed place the negro is found, and 
under orders of Captain Alger, he guides them onward. The column 
has now turned eastward and is now moving upon the rear of the enemy. 
Every instant it draws nearer and nearer. Now comes the supreme 
moment. The troopers emerge from the sheltering woods. They are 
under the eyes of the compact masses of giay troopers that line the 
crest of the hill. The negro guide takes fright and runs away. 

" Forward men ! " Captain Alger commands. 

In column of fours the audacious handful rush up the Blackland 



58 



THE LIFE OF 



road from a point where the Confederates had never dreamed of the 
presence of an enemv. In an instant they are in the group about the 
commander's headquarters. But there is no time for spoils, not even 
for prisoners. Beyond the hill is the point of attack. At the main line 
Alger dashes, leaving Captain Schuyler to look after those in and to 
the left of the road. 

All this time Sheridan had been counting the minutes. Each one 
seemed an liour. Human endurance was taxed to the uttermost. The 
voung colonel was now realizing for the tirst time the intensitv of 
Wellington's longing at Waterloo : 

" Oh for night or Blucher I " 

The hour IkuI nearlv passed and Captain Alger had given no sign. 
The enemy's line to the east was now deploying to surround the wagons, 
and the tire to the south was increasing. 

Where was Alger.' There were no shots, no shouts ; none of the 
clamor that usually accompanies the onsets of cavalrymen. 

True to his promise, when the hand pointed to the last moment 
of the hour, Sb.eridan prepared for the charge. Just as he moved 
out for the final stroke, a train of cars came down the raihvav and drew 
into Booneville, sounding its shrill whistle as a warning, and a welcome 
to those who were in battle. Every one in the Union lines knew that 
Sheridan had sent for reinforcements, and the arrival of the train thrilled 
the struggling soldiers with a new hope. They began to cheer, and the 
train men joined with a will. Sheridan made prompt use of the timely 
incident. He sent woril to the engineer to keep up whistling, and to 
the train hands to cheer and make such clatter as woidd imply tresh 
men. The civilians took the hint. There was a pandemonium of yells 
anil huzzas. 

At this moment Sheridan swung his tired battalions into line. The 
men caught the inspiration of their commantler and felt with him the 
responsibilities of the moment. Haifa mile in front of them were the 
gray masses, moving in and out in busv preparation for the tinal onset. 

The scene on both sides was a spirited one. and to the Federal 
troops the moment was big with fate. But there was no time for 
reflection. Sheridan is in front. He shouts to his troops " Forward I " 
The squadrons sweep across the fiekls in close order. As they draw 
near, dropping shots from the Contet-lerate artillery and carbines empty 
a sadille here and there. Still on tliev go. No one has thought for 
anything but the enemy. The excitement of the charge thrills every 
nerve. The lust of battle shines in everv eve. Thev draw closer and 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



S9 




GEN. R. A. ALGER, OF MICHIGAN. 

[F'rom a Rc-ant Photograph. "[ 

closer to the foe. Each blue-coat singles out his man, and with a crash 
as of meeting waters, and a yell as of contending demons, the two 
forces come together. The Confederate line wavers and then breaks 
before the force of Sheridan's first charge. 

At this instant Alger's handful of men rushed upon the Confederate 
rear. The attack was so unexpected that they were thrown into utter 
confusion. They broke at every point. Audacity and courage had 
won. But danger to the " forlorn hope " was not yet past. Sheridan 
had not seen nor heard of it, but the enemy had. Alger was not within 
"veiling" distance of his commander when he attacked. His force 
had made noise enough, but it had all been drowned in the horrible 
confusion of the moment. The tumult of his own movement had 



6o THE LIFE OF 

drowned all the rest of the battle to, Sheridan's ears. He knew that 
the Confederate masses had broken in front of him, but he could not tell 
whether the shouts he heard were Confederate or Union. He pushed 
on to see. Soon the sitviation was under his eye. His stratagem had 
been successful. The "forlorn hope" had done its Avork and done it 
well, but in the confusion of the moment it was in a desperate scramble 
with the flying Confederates. It was still beyond the reach of aid from 
Sheridan, and in a running fight with the enemy. As the Confederates 
broke to the rear, they tried in their flight to punish the force in its way 
for its temerity. In the melee which then ensued each side sought to do 
all the damage it could to the other, while getting out of danger itself. 
Alger and his little command were rushing to the rear with as much 
speed as their enemv. Thev had emptied their revolvers into a con- 
fused mass of Confederates which they had driven otf by the I'oadslde. 
Their ammunition was gone and they plied the sabre unsparingly. 
The Confederates were now on an equality with them, and in point of 
numbers, vastly their superior. But they pushed oft' the field, fighting 
as thev ran. The race was a singular one, but serious as it was, it had 
its ludicrous aspects. Each side was trying to get away from the other 
and man by man they separated whenever a by-road or a bit of woods 
opened a chance for escape. Many a hand-to-hand conflict took place. 
Alger rode for half a mile side by side with a Confederate soldier, each 
emptying his revolver at the other without doing any injury. Just as 
Alger had finished his last' shot, he was carried, partly by the antics of 
his fractious, lank, gray horse, so familiar to the men of his command, 
and partly by the rush of those about him, beyond his own forces 
and into the timber, where the enemy were seeking shelter. His horse, 
now unmanageable, ran through the clustering branches, until a limb 
tore the luckless rider from his saddle, breaking his ribs as he swung 
violently against the tree. He, had barely strength to parry a vicious 
blow from a flying cavalrvman, as he fell into the thick underbrush, 
unconscious. How long he lay there he never knew ; but when he 
recovered consciousness, all was quiet about him. The Confederates 
had disappeared and so had his own command. He dragged himself 
from his shelter, crawled to the road, and had entered an open field 
when the clatter of horses' hoofs reached his ears. He thought it was the 
enemy's forces, and again concealed himself. But as they neared him 
he recognized them. Thev were from the Second Iowa. Sheridan 
had sent them out to seek for his body, for it was thought that he had 
been killed. Indeed, a number of the men having seen his helpless 
plight in the wild stampede, had reported him dead or captured. They 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 6i 

put him on a horse ami lotuvncil to camp. It was at'ter dark when 
Slieridan greeted him with "• Old fellow, you have tlone well." 

Then the two sat down to talk over the incidents of the remarkahle 
engagement. Captain Alger lost more than half of his command, and 
the Confederates were mauv more men short from the effects of Sheri- 
dan's first charge. 

This day's work made Sheridan a brigadier-general before he had 
even been commissioned a colonel. Captain Alger was promoted to 
the rank of major for his gallant leadership of the "forlorn hope." It 
was a great day's work for both ofl!icers and men, and not only his own 
regiment, but the whole armv was taught a wholesome respect for the 
soldierly qualities of Sheridan. 

That the achievement is not luululy magnified in this narration the 
orders of the commanders will bear witness : 

General Order'!, No Si. \ 

IIeadi^uarters Army of the Mississippi, July 2, 1862. / 
The General commanding announces to this army that on the ist instant. 
Colonel P. H. Sheridan, Second Michigan Cavalrv, with eleven companies of 
his own men and eleven of the Second Iowa Cavah-y, was attacked at Booneville 
by eight regiments of rebel cavalry, under General Chalmers, and after an eight 
hours' fight, drove them back, leaving their dead and wounded on the field. 
The coolness, determination and fearless gallantry displayed by Colonel Sheri- 
dan and the officers and men of his commund. deserve the thanks and admira- 
tion of the army. W. S. Rosecrans, Alajor-General. 

Telegram. 
CoRiXTii, July 6, 1S62. 
Secretary of War: 

Official report is just received of a bi"iiliaiit afi'.iir of our ca\alrv near Boone- 
ville, Miss., on the ist instant. ColDnel Sheridan with two regiments — 72S 
men — was attacked by parts of eight regiments, numbering 4,700 men, which 
he defeated and drove back after eitiht hours' fijjhting. Our losses, forty-one 
killed and wounded and missing. That of the enemy must have been very 
great. He left sixty-five dead on the field. I respectfully recommend Colonel 
Sheridan for gallant conduct in battle. 

H. W. Halle.ck, Major-General. 

Trifling e\ents often exercise a powerfid influence upon each man's 
life. This little fight made known Sheridan's powers and hail a 
more important beaiing upon his future than many a greater engage- 
ment in which he handled an armv corps. Then it was his first chance. 
Had he missed, who can say what his after record would have been.'' 
These cold facts but faintlv portray the actual work of the day when 
Sheridan fought his first battle ; but they state the beginning of a won- 
derful career in war, and insignificant as they may seem in the light of 
the mighty operations which followed in quick succession, make mani- 
fest the points of military genius upon which a great career has been 
founded. 




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Chapter VI. 



A NEW COMMAND. 

TRANSFERRED TO THE INFANTRY — A HIGHER COMMAND BUT LESS CONGENIAL 
SERVICE — THE BATTLES OF CORINTH AND lUKA — MAKING THE MOST OF 
SMALL OPPORTUNITY — TRANSFER TO GENERAL BUELL'S ARMY — COMMAND- 
ING A DIVISION AT PERRYVILLE — SAVING LOOMIS' BATTERY — BRINGING 
VICTORY' OUT OF DEFEAT. 

After Booneville, what? It was a swift leap to a soldier's fame, 
but it was one well won and thoroughly deserved. Six weeks of 
marching and fighting made the captain and commissary an acting 
colonel of cavalry and a brigadier-general in prospective, recommended 
with unusual earnestness by the most critical and cold-blooded of com- 
manding generals, Henry Wager Halleck. Sheridan's position was a 
unique one. His commission was that of captain in the Thirteenth 
Infantry, U. S. A. He was detailed to General Halleck's statl\is chief 
commissary, and while so acting was appointed colonel of the Second 
Regiment of Cavalry, Michigan Volunteers, by Governor Austin Blair. 
He took command immediately, was never mustered in as colonel, and 
did not receive his state commission till after the war closed. Within 
twenty-four hours after the governor's appointment was received, the 
new commander was in the saddle, raiding and fighting along the line 
of the Mobile and Ohio railroad. From May 28th the service was 
continuous and severe. On the 29th, with the Second Iowa Cavalry, 
Sheridan attacked and captured Booneville. The next day Colonel 
Hatch reports him detached with the left battalion of the Second Mich- 
igan to raid on the railroad below Booneville, and "do as much dam- 
age as possible." This was the first of the memorable raids against 
railroad communications, which of themselves make so famous a chap- 
ter in the history of the Civil War, It was limited in area, but was as 
damaging as to extent as anv that followed. Its efi'ect was so marked 
as to cause General Halleck to telegraph on the 4th of June that "Colo- 
nel Sheridan, Second Michigan Cavalry, conducted with great skill 
and coolness the operations of his command." On the 6th Sheridan 



64 THE LIFE OF 

fought a sharp and successful engagement in the neighborhood of Bald- 
win, Miss., while on reconnaissance. The Confederate command out- 
numbered his own and consisted of a full regiment of cayaby and an 
independent Georgia company. Sheridan met them, disipounted tive 
companies, and attacked at once, driving them in disorder for two 
miles, and capturing several prisoners, having but one rnan severely 
wounded. On the 9th of June, in command of the Second Brigade of 
cavalry, he entered Baldwin to find the enemy gone. He pushed 
southward to Guntown. From that date till July 1st, he was so con- 
stantly on the move that the Confederate commanders were compelled 
to take vigorous notice of his audacity and activity-. As already nar- 
rated. General Chalmers was sent to dislodge him at Booneville. 
With a much superior force, he received an overwhelming repulse. 
General Halleck at once recommended the little trooper's promotion 
as brigadier-general. He was assigned to the command of a brigade, 
and remained in that enlarged sphere of dut}' without receiving his 
commission. Probably no other officer in the Union army could have 
shown a similar record — that of commanding as colonel and brigadier, 
a regiment, brigade, and division, while actually commissioned and 
legally ranking only as a captain of infantry in the regular army. 

The dispatches to and from Booneville on the ist and 3d of July, 
as well as those sent by his commanding officers, illustrate all 'the 
qualities which, on larger fields, afterwards compelled his recognition 
as the most masterly cavalry commander of the century. To General 
Asboth, the old Hungarian- American soldier who bore himself so 
\vell in our western campaigns, Sheridan telegraphed on the ist of 
July for reinforcements, saying : "'• I am still holding them." He had a 
large number of prisoners, and held on to them. "This is my third dis- 
patch. I am still holding my camp." At 5 p. M., however, he sends 
his fourth dispatch saying: "I will not want any infantry support. 
I have whipped the enemy. ... I have lost some fine officers 
and men, but have hurt the enemy badly. It would be well to let 
me have a battery of artillery. I might then be able to follow up 
the enemy." Next morning at 9.30 A. m., he informs Asboth "that 
the enemy had skedaddled." Chalmer's force consisted of ten regi- 
ments ; Sheridan's of two. Rosecrans, who commanded the wing of 
the Union army before Corinth, with which the Second Michigan Cav- 
alry was brigaded, telegraphs Halleck, -on the 3d of July, an account 
of the fight, and adds : '' I have issued an order complimenting Sheri- 
dan and his command. !More cavalrv massed under such an officer 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 6^ 

would be of great use to us. Sheridan ousfht to be made a briofadier. 
He would not be a stampeding general." And he never was except 
to the enemy he encountered. 

On the 6th of July, General Halleck asked for Sheridan's promotion. 
The gallant little cavalryman remained at Booneville in command 
of the Second Brigade, and the records are full of proofs of his cease- 
less activity. His scouting service was admirably organized, and, as 
always thereafter, he showed his striking capacity for gaining a com- 
plete topographical knowledge of the ground over which he was or ex- 
pected to be operating. In order to apprehend with clearness the value 
of such an officer as Sheridan at that date and at the posts he was 
occupying, it must be remembered that Corinth in Northern Missis- 
sippi was the most important railroad post of the central region, in 
which Halleck's forces were operating. The movements of Grant 
early in the year up the Tennessee and Cumberland valleys, resulting 
in the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, led to the great two days' 
conflict at Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh. It was primarily a flank 
movement on the Confederate positions in the lower Mississippi, and an 
attack on their interior and central lines. Corinth was the key to their 
interior lines of railroad transportation and supply. It reached south- 
westwardly to Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and eastwardly to Northern 
Alabama, the Valley of the Tennessee, Chattanooga, and the mountain 
regions of Northern Georgia and East Tennessee. Halleck, in assuming 
general command in the field after the battle of Shiloh, advanced by 
'' trenches and parallels" on Corinth, which Beauregard had heavily in- 
trenched. There were within the lines of investment three considerable 
Union armies, known as the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Ohio. The 
best and ablest soldiers of the war, all things considered, were grouped 
together under " Old Brains," as the army argol had already named 
General Halleck. Besides Grant and Sherman, there were Rosecrans, 
Thomas, Pope, Buell, Granger, Stanley, O. M. Mitchel, Nelson, 
Logan, Edw-ard McCook, McClernand, Grierson, "Bob" Mitchell, 
Wallace, Asboth, Blair, Jefl'. C. Davis, and a score of others who already 
had won a national reputation. There w-ere a hundred more — restless, 
able, devoted — who were pushing to the front rank. Among them all, 
Sheridan was \velcomed from the first as an equal, and by the majority 
also a coming leader, with the unmistakable evidences in his bearing 
and acts of a brilliant commander. Against or about him there has 
never, from first to last, been any intrigues, jealousies', or personal hos- 
tilities. All his places were held by right of genius and its compelling 
capacity. 



66 THE LIFE OF 

After Corinth was evacuated by Beauregard it was occupied by 
our troops. It must be remembered that Sheridan's earliest opera- 
tions ^vere designed to break up Beauregard's communications, and 
that they were so tar successful as to compel his speedier withdrawal 
from a post threatened with isolation. The Confederates were at once 
obliged to begin active operations for its recapture, and their move- 
ments brought to the front Halleck's well-devised plan of campaign. 
Grant's and Rosecrans' parts of it resulted successfully, first in de- 
feating, in the late summer and fall of 1S63, all the Confederate efibrts 
to drive the Union forces from their ''coigns of vantage" in Northern 
Mississippi at Corinth. luka, and Holly Springs, with the intermediary 
position, on the line those points represent. Later and in the earlier 
part of 1S63, this occupancy led the way to the successful land advance 
on Vicksburg, thus inaugurating the great campaign which ended, July 
4th, in the surrender of that fortress, and in the clearing of the valley 
of the Mississippi, so that its " waters ran unvext to the sea." East of 
Corinth Halleck's plan involved the clearing of Kentucky and Middle 
Tennessee, the holding of Northern Alabama, and the definite and 
speedv advance of the Army of the Ohio on to Chattanooga, to be fol- 
lowed bv the occupation of East Tennessee. How the success of this 
portion of Halleck's plans was hindered w^ill hereafter be seen. 

Colonel Sheridan remained at Booneville after the battle of July ist. 
His next important movement was an extended scout, during which a 
Confederate mail carrier was captured with thirty letters. After this 
affair, which had important results, Generals Rosecrans, Sullivan, 
Granger, Elliott, and Asboth then united in a telegi-aphic dispatch to 
General Halleck, urging Sheridan's promotion as brigadier, declaring 
that he ''is worth his weight in gold." His own and commanding 
officers' reports are full of the successes he daily chronicled. On the 
27th of July Sheridan attacked Ripley in three directions. He drove a 
force of 600 into the post on the morning of the 29th — the day on 
which he asked to be relieved because there was nothing for him to do. 
The town was taken on tlie morning of the 30th. His promotion was 
asked by all his immediate commanders. On the loth of August, after 
days of intermittent skirmishing, he was found encamped between 
Rienzi and Booneville. On the 14th he seized EUiston and Baldwin 
and burned the depot of supplies. He was kept busy skirmishing 
with tlie enemy between Ripley and Rienzi. On the 26th of August 
he encountered a large guerrilla force, and General Granger reports : 
"The race and drubbing Sheridan gave them was the most disgraceful 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 67 

rout and scntteration that I ever heard of." It wouKl be useless to 
punctuate these pages with the daily details of his actions. Though 
impatient for his brigadier's commission, he was not destined to receive 
it till the earlv part of September. The promotion was still pending, 
when on the 4th of that month, Colonel Sheridan was relieved by Gen- 
eral Granger, under orders from General Halleck, of the command of the 
Second Brigade, Cavalrv Division, of the Army of the Mississippi. He 
was immediately ordered to report to Louisville, where General jNIarcus 
D. Wright Avas engaged in organizing and forwarding troops for the 
purpose of driving ^Morgan, Bragg, and other Confederate commanders 
out of Kentucky, preparatory to an endeavor to again attempt the 
execution of Halleck's plan for an attack on Chattanooga. Andrew 
Johnson was at Nashville as military governor of Tennessee, quarrel- 
ing savagelv with Buell's representatives, Assistant Adjutant-General 
Greene and Colonel Stanley Alatthew (now Associate Justice of the 
United States Supreme Court), who Avas acting as provost marshal. 
General T. J. Bovle. assigned to recruiting Kentucky Union troops was 
assuming to be in full command of that state. General Don Carlos Buell 
was apparentlv wasting precious time in disciplining Union command- 
ers and their troops, who persisted in believing that a Confederate 
in Kentucky was as much their enemy as one in Alabama or INIissis- 
sippi. General Ormsby M. Mitchel, the learned astronomer, who 
proved himself so capable and brilliant a commander, was holding 
Huntsville and a large section of Northern Alabama, repairing rail- 
roads, fighting constant series of little battles over a great area, w^atch- 
ing fords, gathering and forwarding supplies, and generally doing 
the most useful work, if not that which wins the loudest praise, that a 
great forward movement necessarilv involves. It was into this great 
held, ^vhere the abler Confederate commanders of that date — Bragg, 
Kirby Smith, Polk, Hardee, Sterling Price, Van Dorn, etc., — were 
moving vigorously to retain their foothold in the Central South, that 
Sheridan found himself projected. 

On the date of being relieved of the command at Booneville, 
Mississippi, — September 4th — Colonel Sheridan with his regiment and 
two batteries, Hescock's and Barnet's. was ordered to Louisville. Gen- 
eral Halleck at this date was in ^Vashington, assigned to duty as Gen- 
eral-in-Chief. On the 1 3th Jklajor-General Marcus D. Wright and 
Brigadier-General Gordon Granger telegraphed from Cincinnati : 

" We have no good generals here, and are badly in want of them. 
Sheridan is worth his weight in gold. Will you not try and have him 
made a brigadier at once.'' It will put us in good shape." 



68 THE LIFE OF 

Next dav. General Hallcck replied that Sheridan had been reap- 
pointed, with his original date, that is, of the battle of Booneville, 
July 1st, 1S62. This was the first in a line of promotions, by*vvhich 
every commission he received, except the last — that of General — 
bore the date of a \'ictory. He had two in the volunteer army, five 
brevets in the regular armv. two full commissions as brigadier and 
major-general in the same, before the war closed, and two as lieuten- 
ant-general and general, since its close. On the 27th of September, 
General Wright asked Buell for Sheridan, saying, '• I need him very 
much," but General Buell assigned him to the command of the Elev- 
enth Division in the Third Corps in his army. 

The position of that armv is stated in General Halleck's testimony 
given before the jNIilitary Commission which investigated General 
Buell's conduct of the campaign that closed at Perryville. Kentucky. 
General Halleck left for Washington to serve as General-in-Chief, and 
assumed command on the 23d of July. He said : 

''When I left the Department of the Mississippi, in July last, tlie 
main body of the armv, under Major-General Buell, was between 
Huntsville and Stephenson, moving toward Chattanooga, for which 
place they had left Corinth about the loth of June. 

" !Major-General Curtis' forces were at Helena, Arkansas, and 
those under Brigadier-General Schofield, were in Southwest ^lissouri. 
The central army, imder ^lajor-General Grant, occupying the line of 
Western Tennessee and Northern ^lississippi, extended from Mem- 
phis to luka, and protecteil the railroads from Columbus. Kentucky, 
south, which were their one, only channel of supply. These several 
armies — spread along a line of some six hundred miles, from the west- 
ern borders of Arkansas to Cumberland Gap, and occupying a strip of 
country more than one himdrcd and fifty miles in width, from which 
the enemy's forces had recently been expelled — were rapiilly decreasing 
in strength, from the large number of soldiers sent home on accoimt of 
real or pretended disability. On the other hand, the enemy's armies 
were greatly increased by a rigidly enforced conscription. With their 
great numbers and discipline, they boldly determined to re-occupy 
Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, East Kentucky, and, if possible, to 
invade the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, while our attention was 
distracted by the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and an ex- 
tended Indian insurrection on the western frontiers. 

" This plan had very many chances of success, but the timely order 
of the President, of August 4th, calling for additional forces and the 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



69 




patriotic response of 
the people of the 
Northwest, thwarted 
these phins. General 
Bragg suddenly 
transferred a large 
part of his army 
from Tupelo, Mis- 
sissippi, through the 
states of Alabama 
and Georgia, reached 
Chattanooga in ad- 
vance of General 
Bij.iell, turned his left, 
and rapidly crossmg 
the state of Tennes- 
see entered Kentucky 
by Mumfordsville 
and Lebanon. 

" General Buell 
fell back upon Nash- 
ville without giving 
the enemy battle ; 
then followed, or rather moved parallel with, Bragg, who after captur- 
ing our garrison at Mumfordsville, turned off from the main road to 
Louisville, along which General Buell passed, the latter reaching Louis- 
ville without any engagement. 

" Another column of the enemy had moved from East Tennessee, 
after blockading Cumberland Gap, upon Lexington, and threatened 
Cincinnati. A small force of our raw troops, which had been pushed 
forward to Richmond, Kentucky, under Major-General Nelson, were 
met by the enemy and completely routed. 

"Major-General Buell left Louisville on the 1st of October, with 
an army of 100,000 men, in pursuit of General Biagg." 

The Military Commission found, among other things, that the 
enforced repair by Buell's command, under Halleck's orders, of the 
Memphis and Charleston railroad from Corinth to Decatur, Alabama, 
for use as a line of supply, occupied time to little or no purpose, 
and delayed Buell so much as to give Bragg the opportunity to oc- 
cupy and concentrate at Chattanooga before the Union general. This 



GEN. B. R. GRIERSON, 

A DISTINGUISHED UNION CAVALRY OFFICER. 



70 THE LIFE OF 

compelled the abandonment of the campaign against Chattanooga and 
should have forced Buell to the defense of Nashville and the prevention 
of an invasion of Kentucky. In the opinion of Buell's critics this re- 
quired him to concentrate his forces at Sparta and McMinnville, Ten- 
nessee. " Instead of that," says the Military Commission, of which Colo- 
nel Donn Piatt was recorder, " he waited until the 5th of September 
before concentrating " . . . and he then "retired to Nashville, 
thereby allowing Bragg to cross the Cvnnberland unmolested. The com- 
mission cannot justify the falling back from Murfreesboro to Nashville, 
but it is their opinion that it was Buell's duty from that point to have 
attacked the rebel army before it crossed the Cumberland. 

'' The order to hold Mumfordsville proceeded from General Wright, 
commanding the Department of Ohio, of which Kentucky formed a 
part. [Sheridan had been ordered to him.] 

" It was given in hopes that General Buell would reach the place 
in time to save it. General Wright only knew that Buell and Bragg 
were advancing towards it." 

Brigadier-General Sheridan was engaged in the task of organizing, 
disciplining, and drilling the new troops which had responded to the 
call of the President, as mentioned by General Halleck, when General 
Buell's arrival at Louisville brought at once every available nian and 
commander into the field. The army moved from Louisville on the 
1st of October. General Buell describes the troops "as yet undisci- 
plined, unprovided with suitable artillery, and in every way unfit for 
active operations against a disciplined foe." The force was reorganized. 
Brigadier-General Philip Henry Sheridan was assigned to the com- 
mand of the Eleventh Division of the Third Army Corps, which was 
under command of Major-General Gilbert. The portion of this army 
under Buell which fought the battle of Perryville was organized into 
two army corps. The first was under command of Major-General A. 
D. AlcCook, and but two divisions were brought on the field, led by 
Generals Lovell H. Rousseau and James S. Jackson. It contained six 
brigades. 

The Third Corps was under the command of Alajor-General 
Charles C. Gilbert ; its three divisions were led by Brigadier-Generals 
Albert Schoepft', a capital German soldier ; Robert B. Mitchell, a sturdy 
fighting Kansas volunteer, who had seen service in the Mexican War ; 
and the Eleventh Division under command of our hero, " Phil" Sher- 
idan. He had three brigades of infantry, with two field batteries. 
There v^-ere twelve regiments in all. In this division the brigades 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 71 

were commanded by Colonels Daniel McCook, Nicholas Gruesal, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Bernard Loifdolt, and the cavalry by Captain Eben- 
ezer Gay. 

The events immediately leading to the battle can be rapidly sum- 
marized. On the 22d of August, General George H. Thomas, second 
in command, notified General Buell that Bragg's army was trying to 
turn the left of his position at Minsville, and so enter Kentucky. 
Buell regarded this vv^ith doubt, as he believed Bragg w^ould turn into 
Northern Alabama . Before he saw his error, Bragg had gained a great 
advantage. Between that date and the ist of October there was a 
series of daring movements on Bragg's part, and of Fabian manoeuvres 
on that of Buell's. Five divisions were put under Thomas to defend 
Nashville, which Bragg seriously threatened by the beginning of Sep- 
tember, gaining control of the Cumberland Valley, and pushing for 
Kentucky. He moved along the roads from Bardstown to Bryants- 
ville, passing Marysville and Harrodsburg, and by Springfield, Perry- 
ville, and Danville. Polk reached Harrodsburg on the 6th of October. 
Hardee, moving on the most southerly roads, was at Perryville on the 
same date. He proposed to General Bragg to concentrate the Con- 
federate army at that point. Kirby Smith was at Frankfort and 
reported that a great portion of the Union army was in front of him. 
Hardee on his side felt troubled, and was closely pressed. Confused 
by these contradictory reports, Bragg thought that Buell was marching 
toward him, and that his columns were placed all along parallel roads 
from Lebanon on the right to Shelbyville on the left. Acting on this, 
he reinforced Kirby Smith, and sent him to Perryville to assist Hardee. 

Buell had not, however, fallen into the error that Bragg supposed he 
had done, but had kept his forces well concentrated. There was a 
considerable scarcity of water, which embarrassed the Union com- 
mander. The possession of the three great springs at Perryville was 
the prize in view, and Buell concentrated his forces in order to obtain 
possession of them. On the 6th of October General McCook with the 
First Corps on the left, was encamped between Bardstown and ]\Lacks- 
ville. Gilbert's, the Third Corps, was in the centre at Springfield ; and 
Crittenden's force was on the right, between Springfield and Lebanon. 
They were now in a position to help each other. On the morning of 
the 7th, McCook posted himself at Macksville, from whence he could 
march either on Harrodsburg or Perryville. Crittenden bivouacked 
where cross-roads lead to the latter village. Gilbert approached by the 
Springfield road, driving Hardee's pickets before him. A little before 



72 THE LIFE OF 

reaching Peiryville, this road crosses a small stream called Doctor's 
Creek, which though dr}' at the time, had a few muddy pools at its 
bed ; it was the only water within reach, Sheridan, whose division 
formed the right of Gilbert's corps, took possession of it on the evening 
of the 9th, and placed his outposts along the ridge of Chaplin's Hills 
which rise on either side. These hills separated the creek valley from 
that of another stream, Chaplin's Run. Perryville is situated at a point 
where the road crosses Chaplin's Creek, the sources of which are 
further up. The region is cut with ravines and thickl}' wooded, mak- 
ing it difficult to hear and impossible to see for any distance. Hardee 
with his two divisions was encamped on the heights beyond Perryville, 
bordering the left bank of Chaplin's Creek. At daybreak of the 9th he 
tried to dislodge Sheridan from the position he had assumed during the 
night. 

This attack brought on the engagement, and at the outset Sheridan 
had his full share. The movement of the evening before by which the 
water holes were seized, was participated in by both Sheridan's and 
Mitchell's divisions. Crittenden did not get into line until the middle of 
the day, though not from any want of effort on his part. McCook 
took his position on to the left of Gilbert at about ten in the morning, 
but his men were heated and tired, and his force was reduced by the 
withdrawal elsewhere of Sill's division. Of his force of 13,000 under 
Rousseau and Jackson, nearly all were raw soldiers who had never 
been under fire before. 

The Federal line was finally formed : Crittenden on the extreme 
right, beyond the reach of sight and sound. To the right of the Perry- 
ville road was Gilbert's corps, with Sheridan resting on his left on the 
road, and Mitchell's division on his right. In the rear, and separated 
from him by a considerable space, was Schoepfl''s division, held in reserve 
on Doctor's Creek. At a certain distance to the left of the road, in 
advance of the one he had followed on his way from Macksville, 
ISIcCook's corps went into bivouac. The arms were stacked and the 
men on fatigue duty had gone in search of wood and water. 

It was two in the afternoon. At this moment cannonading com- 
menced, but it did not disturb either army. While the soldiers were 
seeking shade and repose, groups of officers were watching the shells. 

The Confederate commanders were preparing for a move in force 
upon the next day. They did not suspect that a splendid opportunity 
was being lost. General Buell, or rather his corps commanders, had 
massed 58,000 men within reach of Perryville. On the other side of 
Chaplin's Creek was Hardee with 15,000 men. Cheatham had just 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 73 

arrived and raised this to 33,000 men. The arrival of this division deter- 
mined the Confederates to assume the offensive in the hope of prevent- 
ing a junction of the Federal forces. Bragg was present on the field, 
but left the command to Polk. The two divisions of Hardee were 
separated from the Federal lines by Chaplin's Creek. Anderson was op- 
posed to Rousseau and Sheridan. Buckner, on his right, faced Jackson. 
Cheatham foimd himself on the left of Anderson, but by a fortunate 
chance was withdrawn from this position, and after a march to the right 
was placed in resei've behind the other two divisions. If he had com- 
menced the battle oil the left, he would have roused Crittenden and 
brought him back to the battle-field. About 2 o'clock, Buckner and 
Anderson put themselves in motion. Anderson attacked Rousseau's 
line. The Union troops made a splendid resistance and compelled the 
enemy to show himself openly. On the right Liddel's troops, led by 
Buckner, took advantage of the woods to approach TeiTell's brigade 
unperceived. 

It suddenly opened fire and marched right on the enemy's gun. 
Jackson was killed at the first discharge. The men broke in disorder. 
Terrell was killed trying to rally them. A fresh brigade checked the 
onset, but the line was staggering. Rousseau fell back to the creek. 
Buckner sent Cleburne's brigade forward to complete what seemed a 
rout. Its leader was wounded. Colonel Webster on our side was 
mortally wounded. The division lost one-fifth of its strength. Stark- 
weather was compelled also to fall back with his brigade. 

It was this success of Buckner's, steadily pushed by that com- 
mander, that brought the rebel left against Sheridan's right, which 
then advanced uncovered. He immediately attacked their flank furi- 
ously and under the movement re-formed his front. He opened an 
enfilading fire with his two batteries, and brought them to a halt at 
once. The soldiers who had just driven Rousseau's 5,000 men were 
unable to break Sheridan's lines. The indomitable little soldier, with 
his fresher troops, occupied a position easy to defend. All the eftbrts of 
the assailants were now directed against Sheridan. Posted along the 
edge of the wood which crowned the Chaplin Hills and commanding 
the open fields through which they, the " rebs," were coming to attack 
him, Sheridan inflicted terrible loss on the enemy. The fight was 
fierce and heavy. About 4 o'clock General Gilbert sent Mitchell's 
division to take part in the battle. With two brigades he drew near 
to Sheridan, covering his right. One of them under Colonel Carlin, of 
Illinois, joined the Eleventh Division in an offensive movement. On 
tliat side the enemy was thrown back bevond Chaplin's Creek. The 



74 GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 

Federals passed through the village, where thev captured a body of 
prisoners. ^litchell's third brigade had gone to the extreme left to 
McCook's relief, and for two hours it made head almost alone against 
the attack of the Confederates, slowlv retiring before them, but with 
cruel sacrifices. Night came at last and put an end to one of the most 
sanguinary battles of the war, if we take into account the forces 
engaged. The Federal brigades, numbering 25,000 men, lost 4,000. 
The three divisions which had alone sustained all the brunt of the 
battle, about 15,000, had left on the field of Ferryville, 510 killed, 
2,67^>, wounded, and 251 prisoners — more than one-third of their efiect- 
ive force. 

The Comte de Paris, from whose work most of these details are 
drawn, considers the battle a drawn one, though acknowledging it 
destroyed the hope of occupying Kentucky. It destroyed the reputa- 
tion as a soldier of General Buell, who was not on the field till sun- 
down, while it added laurels to McCook, Rousseau, IMitchell, and 
especially to Sheridan, whose superb resistance to Buckner's troops, 
flushed with apparent victory, turned the fate of the day into tlie 
victory it certainly was. Many anecdotes are told of Sheridan per- 
sonally in connection with this fight, but the tbllowing will suffice : 
General Gilbert, not understanding something which he saw through 
his glass, sent a stafi' officer to find out what it was. When Sheridan 
was asked what the movement meant, he said : "I have driven the 
enemy before me, and whipped them like h — 1, and that battery," point- 
ing to a battery of the enemy which was firing on General ]SIcCook's 
troops, "Fll silence it in five minutes." He did it. 

One of the stirring episodes of the day was the rescue of a battery 
commanded by Captain Loomis, and belonging to Rousseau's division. 
It was exposed and in danger from the advance of Buckner's forces. 
The long range ammunition was exhausted, and the Parrots were 
loaded with grape and used efiectively at short range. When Rousseau 
was hardest pressed there was considerable danger of losing this bat- 
tery, till Sheridan ordered up three regiments, who in their impetuous 
charge cleared the ground before them, and enabled the battery and 
hard pressed troops to fall back and re-form. Sheridan was every- 
where during the fight, and exposed himself so much that he was 
reported killed. The battle made solid the reputation he had already 
won as a fighting trooper, and proved his ability to handle and move 
raw men under fire as well as to fight them efiectually. 

There was no breatliing spell tor Sheridan or any of the real fight- 
ers, as at once the army advanced towards Stone River. 



Chapter VII. 



FROM PERRYVILLE TO STONE RIVER. 

Sheridan's place in the army of the Cumberland — preparing for mur- 
freesboro' — sheridan leads the way — the battle of stone river — 
the deadly wrestle with cheatham — commended for distinguished 
services. 

" I HAVE possession of the ridge occupied by the enemy yesterday." 

This was Sheridan's characteristic dispatch the day after Perry- 
ville. It was addressed to his coi'ps commander, Alajor-General Gil- 
bert. That officer in his Perryville report says: "Brigadier-General 
Sheridan I commend to notice as an officer of much gallantly and of 
high professional ability. He held the key of our position with tenacity, 
and used the point to its utmost advantage." 

To Sheridan the next two months were full of activity, leading up,, 
as they did, to the notable battle of Stone River, at jSIurfreesboro', Ten- 
nessee. 

Drawn battle though the Comte de Paris declares Perryville to have 
been, it was the Union forces that held the field and made the advance 
therefrom, while Bragg's Confederate army retreated rapidly south 
and eastward, until they reached the defensible lines of Stone River. 
General Buell found it convenient to return to Louisville, after arrival 
at which post he was not again restored to active command. His con- 
duct of the Perryville campaign was made the subject of searching 
inquii-y by a military commission, whose verdict was in the main 
adverse to that general. The campaign and its character still remains 
the subject of dispute by military critics. Major-General George H. 
Thomas was in command until October 30th, moving the main body of 
the Union forces toward Nashville. At that date General Rosecrans, 
who had just successfully fought the second battle of Corinth, was 
placed in control of the Buell army, still known to history as the 
Army of the Cumberland. Rosecrans was at Louisville on the ist 
of November, and immediately assumed command, arriving at Bowling 



76 THE LIFE OF 

Green on the same day. A considerable Confederate force was at 
Murfreesboro', havingarrived there on the 27th inst., Breckenridge being 
in immediate command, with S,ooo men. Forrest had in the valley a 
poorly equipped cavalry force of over five thousand. An attack was 
made on Nashville and repulsed on the 6th of November. The entire 
rebel force did not then exceed thirty thousand in and about Murfrees- 
boro'. At that place forty-five guns were also concentrated. Later 
Breckem'idge was joined by the divisions under Cheatham and Buckner. 
General Kirby Smith held Cumberland Gap with over twelve thousand 
men. Bragg himself was at TuUahoma, half way between Nashville 
and Chattanooga. General Joseph E. Johnston, reported to be in com- 
mand, was, at the date given, in feeble health at Chattanooga. Our 
scouts and spies reported that Bragg acknowledged to receiving only 
1,500 recruits in Kentucky. Van Dorn acknowledged in his report 
a loss of 13,000 officers and men, killed, wounded, and missing. Ster- 
ling Price was superseded, creating dissatisfaction among the southwest 
Confederate troops. 

The direct pursuit of Bragg's scattering army was pressed from 
the nth to the 23d of October by the army corps under Major-General 
Thomas L. Crittenden. Skirmishes were had at Danville, Harrods- 
burg, Stanford, Lancaster, Alountain Gap, Crab Orchard, near Mount 
Vernon, Camp Wildcat, at Nelson and Pitman's Cross-roads, and on 
the Madison road. The enemy retired through Cumberland Gap and 
the pursuit was discontinued at Richmond, Kentucky, on the 21st of 
October. 

The troops of the corps which at Perryville had been under the 
command of General C. C. Gilbert, was under the arrangements made 
by the new commander, General Rosecrans, transferred to Major-Gen- 
eral Alexander McCook, the senior member of the famous fighting fam- 
ily of that name, whose youngest member. Colonel Dan McCook, com- 
manded a brigade under Sheridan at Perryville. Our little brigadier 
was placed in command of the Third Division of the army, in the Twen- 
tieth Corps, which was strengthened and made more efficient. The 
records of the service are not, as during the last year of the Civil War, 
full of Sheridan's movements, but they tell of his progress by the story 
of skirmish and charge, of rifle volley and battery roar, of stubborn fight- 
ing and bayonet's flash. Wherever there was work to do, an enemy to 
feel, or a force to be repulsed, Sheridan was ordered to the front. When 
general battle was had and great armies interlocked in herculean strug- 
gle, Sheridan is reported as stubbornly fighting, heroically resisting 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 77 

great odds, holding the key of our position with Irish tenacity, or 
advancing on the kibes of victory with that elan and dash that at last 
made him renowned. As Grant said of Sheridan on one occasion, 
" When I wanted that man, he was sure to be there." Sheridan, on 
being told of this, said very coolly, " Well, a fellow ought to be where 
he is expected." 

Carrying the general outlines of this campaign in mind, the reader 
must remember that the Union policy involved, first, the defense and 
safety of Nashville, and second, an advance on Chattanooga, a move- 
ment which must be made in order to clear the Tennessee Valley and 
bring the fighting to the gates of Georgia, thus beginning the linking of 
our eastern and central armies together. The rebel policy had already 
proved unsuccessful. It aimed to divide the Union line of action 
between the Appalachian Range and the Mississippi, by an attack on 
the centre, to end in the occupation of Southern Kentucky and North- 
ern Tennessee. So far it had but reaped disaster. The two objectives, 
then, were Nashville, as sought by the rebels, and Chattanooga, as 
advanced upon by the Union forces. Bragg claimed to have won a 
victory at Perryville. His previous operations, with the expectations 
whereon they were based, proved, however, a complete failure. He 
was badly punished in having Polk's army driven back, but declared that 
he left his enemy in a worse condition. This was not true. Bragg 
himself retired to Tullahoma, and only slowly did the Confederate 
military authorities realize that General Rosecrans was making ready 
for a winter battle. Indeed, it is doubtful if they conceived that to be 
the case until after they were defeated and driven back at Stone River. 

General Rosecrans wisely concentrated his eftective army about 
Nashville. He was fortunate first, in having Bviell's troops to handle, 
and next, in securing a large number of recruits and new regiments to 
fill all gaps. The concentration at Nashville enabled the easy repulse 
of all Confederate movements on that point. By means of the railroad 
and the Cumberland River, a vast amount of supplies were gathered, 
transported, and stored within the next forty days following the battle of 
Perryville. 

Some skirmishing and brief conflicts marked the movements of 
Sheridan's division between the loth of October when he moved out 
on the Chaplin Hills, and his movements in the advance on the 26th 
of December, along the Murfreesboro' and other pikes, toward the 
Stone River battle-field. On the nth of October Sheridan's com- 
mand had a sharp encounter at Crab Orchard, Kentucky. From that 



78 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



date till November 4, 1S62, when General McCook moved to Nash- 
ville direct, there is little to be said of Sheridan and his command. 
Brigadier-General Sill entered Nashville on the 7th. Breckenridge 
had made a movement in force and been driven back. The Fourteenth 
Corps took some slight part in this encounter. Rosecrans then began 
the deliberate concentration of his army. Confederate concentration 
began at Murfreesboro', to which point Bragg also moved his Tulla- 
homa forces. Sheridan had a severe^brush at Edgefield Junction on 
the 7th of November. On the 14th he reports movements from Mill 
Creek. But the month of November was one of preparation. The 
work became serious early in December. On the 9th of that month 
Sheridan reports "something brewing" inside of the Confederate 
lines. On the 12th he had a brush while reconnoitering along Mill 
Creek. His scout reported 60,000 Confederates concentrated at !Mur- 
freesboro'. On the i6th Sheridan's vedettes were in sight of those 
of the enemv. The etficient force of the Third Division on the 
iSth was 6,495 rank and file. On the 20th it was nearly ten thou- 
sand strong. On the 36th of November Sheridan's division was on 
the Nolensville pike. The enemy's cavalry were feeling the Federal 
lines, and Sheridan sent out detachments in everv direction. A large 
quantitv of stores were captured. Morgan was also driven in disorder 
across the Cumberland. Constant movement was the order of the day. 
On the 7th of December the Confederates gained an advantage in the 
capture bv Moigan of i ,500 men at Hartsville. Tavo days later General 
Wheeler, now in Congress, tried but failed to capture our forage train. 
He was handsomely repulsed by Colonel Stanley Matthews, now an 
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. General Stanley, command- 
ing the Union cavalry-, many of them new men, drove the Confederates 
from Franklin, where two years later General Schofield (who is now the 
Senior Mai'or-General of the United States Army) , under General George 
H. Thomas' command, fought the tamous battle of Franklin and utterly 
routed the Confederate Hood. A new revolving rifle was used for the 
first time by Stanley's men. 

Up to this date the Confederate commanders had failed to recog- 
nize the audacious nature of Rosecrans' policy and purpose. They 
did not deem it probable that a sane commander would give battle in 
mid-winter. On the 26th, the day following Christmas, they began 
a rapid concentration on Stone River, at ^lurfreesboro', a very strong 
natural position. 

Within the Department of the Cumberland, embracing Southern 




GEN. U. S. GRANT. 

THE GREAT GENERAL-IN-CHIEF, UNDER WHOM THE CIVIL WAR WAS CARRIED TO 
A SUCCESSFUL ISSUE. 

[From a Photograph Taken Since the War.] 



8o THE LIFE OF 

Kentucky and Central Tennessee, General Rosecrans' effective force 
was on the 20th of December, 1S63, reported at over one hundred and 
twenty-seven thousand men, rank and file. He commenced his move- 
ment on Murfreeslioro', fifteen miles from Nashville, upon the 26th 
of December, with a force of 46,910 men — 41,451 infantry, 2,223 
artillery and 150 guns, and 3,266 cavalry. General George H. Thomas 
commanded the centre, consisting of two divisions, a force in all of 
13,397. General A. D. McCook, under whom Sheridan was serving, 
commanded the right wing, with three divisions under Davis, Johnson, 
and Sheridan, having a total strength of 13,397. Crittenden was in 
command of the left, with an equal force. 

On the 26th Sheridan was reported with his division as "' all out of 
camp, followed by Johnson." On the 30th, when battle was at last 
closed, he w%as reported close "up with Negley's division" of the 
centre. The Confederate General Hardee held the lines of Stone 
River. The Union conmiander was confident of victory, and was 
reported as saying : "■ We've come out to win this battle, and we shall 
do it. We'll keep right on, if our provisions give out, and eat corn 
for a week. We can and will win this battle." 

To reach Chattanooga by early spring — the object of all Federal 
operations in the Central South — it was necessary to fight a vigorous 
and decisive battle. Bragg meant to fight at Tullahoma ; Rosecrans 
planned a combat in the neighborhood of his base of supplies. His 
movements were bold and well-timed. The Confederate cavalry under 
Forrest and Morgan was operating far from the Cumberland region. 
To oppose the Union advance on Murfreesboro' were Polk's corps and 
Breckenridge's three brigatles of Hardee's corps. The balance of 
Hardee's force, under Cheatham, was at Eagleville, forming the rebel 
left to the southw-est of Folk. The rebel right wing, opposing Critten- 
den, was at Readville. Hardee hiniself was on the Nashville pike 
with one division, watching the advance of our centre. 

The Federal army was put in motion on three difierent roads, lead- 
ing from Nashville in a south and southeasterly dii'ection. The centre 
under Thomas, took the Franklin road ; IMcCook, with the right wing, 
that of Nolensville ; and Crittenden, on the left, that of Murfreesboro'. 
The right and left thus flanked the position occupied by Hardee at 
Triune on the Nashville pike, ready to unite in a combined attack on 
him if he tried to hold that position. If he fell back, Thomas and 
McCook were both to bear to the left and approach the Nashville road, 
followed by Crittenden, in order to present themselves simultaneously 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 8i 

with Hardee before Stone River, a small stream which covers Murfrees- 
boro'. It was evident that at this point Bragg must fight or evacuate. 

McCook met Hardee's pickets a short distance from Nashville. The 
head of his column took possession of Nolensville after a sharp fight, 
in which th(?y lost seventy-five men and captured a gun. Hardee had, 
however, begun to concentrate the day before, and on the 27th his 
forces were well advanced on the roads to positions before and lead- 
ing to Murfreesboro'. Crittenden on the Union left, advancing slowly, 
so as to allow ISIcCook time to feel the enemy, reached Lavergne on 
the evening of the 26th, after some slight skirmishes. The next 
day he reached Stewart's Creek, and his cavalry by a bold move- 
ment succeeded in carrying the bridge thrown across the stream, before 
the Confederates could destroy it. Thomas neared the other corps. 
Negley joined Crittenden at Stewart's Creek on the 27th. Rousseau 
camped that day at Nolensville. On the 28th the Confederate army 
united at and near Murfreesboro'. According to the Comte de Paris, 
they were 35,000 strong. On the main pikes thi^ee brigades of infiintry, 
three batteries of artillery, and 5,000 cavalry remained to check and 
delay the Federal advance. On Sunday evening, the 28th of December, 
the Federal army found itself massed on two roads. McCook, who con- 
tinued to occupy the Nashville and Shelbyville, had the main body of his 
troops near Triune, on the direct road to Murfreesboro'. Thomas had 
joined Crittenden's corps not far from Stewart's Creek, and taken a 
position behind that corps. Everybody was put in motion on Monday 
morning, the 29th. McCook, on the right, reached Wilkinson's Cross- 
roads, where he halted the greater part of his corps. His advanced brig- 
ade, under Woodruff', having taken the Murfreesboro' road, arrived that 
evening at Overall's Creek. The left wing advanced still further, fol- 
lowed by Negley's division of Thomas' corps. Palmer's brigades, 
^vhich were in advance, soon met the Confederate outposts and secured 
the bridges and turnpike, making an easy means of getting over the 
creek. Palmer halted at last near Murfreesboro', upon a line of breast- 
works which lay across the road. Here the Confederates were massed. 
The scouts reported that they seemed to be getting ready to leave the 
works. Misled by this information, Crittenden took Hai'per's brigade 
of Wood's division and caused it to ford Stone River to get in position 
with Palmer, who was before him. The purpose was to reach the 
town on the side easiest of approach. Harper that day captured some 
prisoners and put a regiment to flight. The prisoners said they had 
no intention of leaving. On the evening of the 29th the Federals through 
■ditlerent manoeuvres, found themselves in two bodies. 



82 THE LIFE OF 

On the 29th the Confederate army, well in hand, was ready to fight, 
occupying a narrow space before Murfreesboro'. Hardee's corps was 
on the right bank of Stone River ; Breckenridge was in front, on some 
hills, with Cleburne behind him. Polk held the left bank ; Wither's 
division was in front. Still more to the left, and in the rear, was 
McCown's division of Kirby Smith's corps. This was to cover Polk's 
flank in case McCook should come by the Franklin road. Wheeler's 
cavalry brigade started on the 29th to harass Rosecrans' rear and if 
possible capture his wagon trains. Wharton, with 3,000 cavalry, 
cleared the front of the rebel army. Bragg waited all day of the 30th 
to be attacked, believing Rosecrans to have a force larger than was the 
case. This inaction enabled the Union commander to bring all his 
forces up for the decisive battle of the 31st. On the evening of the 30th 
the musketry firing on McCook's advance was very sharp. Sheridan 
did the fighting. In his report General Sheridan says : 

"At sundown I had taken up my position, my right resting on the 
timber, my left on the Wilkinson pike, my reserve brigade of four regi- 
ments to the rear and opposite the centre. 
h " The killed and wounded during the day were one hundred antl 
thirty-five. General Jefi'. C. Davis' left closed on my right, and his 
line was thrown to the rear, so that it formed nearly a right angle with 
me. General Negley's division of Thomas' corps was immediately on 
my left, his right resting on the left-hand side of the Wilkinson pike." 
General Rosecrans gave his orders to his corps commanders on the 
evening of the 30th, and gave them in detail his plan of battle. The 
rebel army, he said, lay across Stone River. Rosecrans determined 
to concentrate as large a force as possible in front of Breckenridge's 
division, occupying the hills on the right of the field. While our right 
was to hold the enemy in check in case it assumed the offensive, the 
left was to cross Stone River and take possession of the hills. From 
this point our artillery was to enfilade Bragg's rear, while the centre 
bearing toward the south would force the river road, and place itself 
betSveen them and Murfreesboro'. This was a bold plan, because 
Rosecrans thought his enemy had 50,000 men. Its chief aim was to 
divide the enemy in two. The ground of attack was covered by thick- 
ets which would protect our movements. Breckenridge was on the 
top of bare hills. The right vv^ing was the weakest part of the Federal 
lines : in fact McCook, with his corps alone, occupied more than one- 
half of our line. This came very near proving a fatal weakness. At 
any rate, the plan threw the burden of tlie severest fighting on the Twen- 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 83 

tieth Army Corps. Each of its three divisions had two brigades in 
front and one in reserve. Sheridan's was on the left, Davis' in the centre, 
and Johnson's on the right. It was deemed probable the enemy would 
attack our right, in order to make a division in favor of their left. 
Thus Rosecrans' success depended on the resistance which this part 
of his army could make. Our officers were ignorant of the topography, 
while the rebels were familiar with every acre. On the evening of the 
30th the rebel position was as follows : Hardee left Breckenridge alone 
on the hills upon the right bank of Stone River. Polk was in the centre 
with Withers' division in first line and that of Cheatham in the second 
line. Hardee was on the left with McCown's and Cleburne's divisions 
behind him. The convergence of thi'ee roads here enabled the Con- 
federates to mass their centre and left upon two lines, interior and short, 
a fact which made hot and dangerous work for McCook. McCown 
was ordered to attack the extreme right of the Union army, while 
Cleburne was to follow and attack McCook's centre. Polk was to take 
the offensive at the same time. Breckenridge was held in reserve. 

It will be seen by this disposition of their forces the Confederates 
designed to give McCook a hammering, with the expectation of at least 
doubling him up. Rosecrans was somewhat afraid of this, but left 
McCook with discretion as to changing his position. Upon his corps' 
capacity to bear this hammering by Hardee was to depend the success 
of the river march. 

In the execution of his plan Rosecrans, leaving the right wing to 
bear the hammering of Hardee, personally superintended the moving 
of the left under Crittenden across the Stone River, to the south. 
Wood's division of Thomas' command was to be moved again to the 
north side. The main Confederate attack was to be from the northeast ; 
our main attack would have been on their southeast. Had it been suc- 
cessful it must have flanked and completely doubled up Bragg's army. 
Hardee made this plan nugatory by concentrating such powerful attacks 
on McCook as at last to compel Rosecrans to order Crittenden across 
the river again, and to turn Thomas by the left flank into line of battle 
to meet and drive back the on-coming Confederates. It is not neces- 
sary to follow in detail the movements in this great battle, as we develop 
chiefly the part that Sheridan played. From the brief outline given it 
will be seen that the corps of which his division formed a part, bore the 
most savage brunt of the battle. It is equally as certain that his part of 
it was in the foremost and thickest of the fight. Sheridan's report of 
his own and division's share in that day of savage onslaught tells the 
story of the conduct of his troops in the battle. He says : 



84 THE LIFE OF 

"About 7.1=^ A, M., the enemy advanced to the attack across an 
open cotton field in Sill's front. This column was opened on by Brush's 
battery of Sill's brigade, which had a direct fire on its front ; also by 
Hiscock's and Houghtailing's batteries, which had an oblique fire on its 
front, from a commanding position near the centre of my line. The 
eflect of this fire on the enemy's columns was terrible. The enemy, 
however, continued to advance until they had reached nearly the edge 
of the timber, where they were opened upon by Sill's infantry, at a 
range of not over fifty yards. The destruction to the enemy's columns 
which was closed in a mass, was terrific. 

" For a short time they withstood this fire, manocuvei'ed, then broke 
and ran, Sill directing his troops to charge, which was gallantly done, 
and the enemy driven back across the valley and behind their intrench- 
ments. In this charge General Sill was killed. The brigade then fell 
back in good order and resumed its former lines. Here, unfortunately, 
the brigade of Colonel Woodrufl gave w^ay, also one regiment of Sill's 
brigade, which was in the second line. This regiment fell back some 
distance, into an open field, and then rallied, its place being supplied 
by a third regiment of the reserve. At this time the enemy, who had 
attacked on the extreme right of our wing against Johnson, and also 
on Davis' front, had been successful, and two divisions on my right 
were retiring in great confusion, closely followed by the enemy, com- 
pletely turning my position and exposing my line to a fire froni the rear. 
" I hastily withdrew the whole of Sill's brigade, and the third regi- 
ment sent to support it, at the same time directing Colonel Roberts of 
the left brigade, who had changed front and formed in column of regi- 
ments, to charge the enemy in the timber from which I had withdrawn 
those regiments. 

" This was very gallantly done by Colonel Roberts, who captured 
one piece of the enemy's artillery, which, however, had to be aban- 
doned. 

"In the meantime I had formed Sill's brigade and Schaefter's on a 
line at right angles to my first line and behind the three batteries of 
artillery, which were placed in a fine position, directing Colonel 
Roberts to return and form on this new line. Then I made an unavail- 
ing attempt to form the troops on my right on this front line, in front of 
which were open fields, through which the enemy was approaching 
under a heavy fire from Hiscock's, Houghtailing's, and Brush's bat- 
teries. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 8^ 

"After the attempt had proved entirely unsuccessful, and my right 
was again turned, General McCook directed me to advance to the front 
and form on the right of Negley. This movement vv^as successfully 
accomplished under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery, every regi- 
ment of mine remaining unbroken. I took position on Negley's right, 
Roberts' brigade having been placed in position at right angles to Neg- 
ley's line facing to the south, the other tvv^o brigades being placed to the 
rear and at right angles with Roberts, and facing the west, covering 
the rear of Negley's lines. 

" General Cheatham's division advanced on Roberts' brigade, and 
heavy masses of the enemy, with three batteries of artillery, advanced 
over the open ground which I had occupied in the previous part of 
the engagement, at the same time the enemv opening from their in- 
trenchments in the direction of Murfreesboro'. 

'' The contest then became terrible ; the enemy made three attacks 
and were three times repulsed, the artillery range of the respective bat- 
teries being not over two hundred yards. In these attacks the Roberts 
brigade lost its commander, who was killed. 

" Schaefter's brigade being entirely out of ammunition, I directed 
them to fix bayonets and await the enemy. Roberts' brigade, which 
was nearly out of ammunition, I directed to fall back, resisting the 
enemy. 

'■'• The difficulty of withdrawing the artillery here became very great, 
the ground being rocky and covered with a dense growth of cedar. 
Houghtailing's battery had to be abandoned, also two pieces of Brush's 
battery. 

" Three regiments of Schaefter's brigade having supplied themselves 
with ammunition, I put into action, by direction of General Rose- 
crans, directly to the front and right of General Wood's division, on 
the left-hand side of the railroad. 

" The brigade advanced through a clump of timber, and took posi- 
tion on the edge of a cotton field, close upon the enemy's line, relieving 
the division of General Wood, which was falling back under the heavy 
pressure of the enemy. At this point I lost my third and last com- 
mander, who was killed." 

The Comte de Paris says that two of Sheridan's brigades under Sill 
and Roberts, formed a continuation of the line as far as the Wilkinson 
road ; they were supported by Schaefter with Sheridan's third brigade. 
A large space separated this road from the Franklin road. It was occu- 
pied by the other two divisions of McCook's corps ; Davis' left and right 



86 THE LIFE OF 

was formed by Woodruft^'s and Post's brigades. They were in the woods. 
Carlin's was between these two, a little to the rear, in a clearing where 
the artillery of that division had taken a position. Johnson had the 
extremity of this line ; Kirk's brigade was in front of the strip of wood- 
land extending to the Franklin road, and that of the German-American 
Willich, brigadier, was placed parallel to this road, with one regimant 
drawn back and facing the west. The third brigade of this division 
was placed on a dirt road. Communications were extremely difficult 
between the different bodies. 

The attack on McCook's corps, led by McCown, was a terrific one. 
The Confederates advanced under a terrible artillery fire, and at one 
time a savage hand-to-hand encounter ensued. It was so overwhelm- 
ing that Johnson's division was driven to the north of the Franklin 
road. The pursuing rebels diverged to the west, a mistake which 
enabled Davis to form for Cleburne's attack, which he repulsed. 
Cleburne, reinforced by Liddel, drove Davis until Carlin's brigade 
checked the rebel advance. He lost his guns and was compelled to fall 
back. The Union lines re-formed and checked Hardee. Then followed 
the assault on Sill's brigade, already described by Sheridan. McCown 
succeeded in driving Davis back to the cedar wood. 

It was a critical moment. We had lost all the field on the right, south 
of the Wilkinson road. Here our cavalry held Wharton in check. He 
had been trying savagely to capture our ordnance train and to seize the 
batteries hastily withdrawn to the encumbered pike. If Folk had moved 
at this opportune moment, the fate of the day might have been very dif- 
ferent. But he delayed for nearly an hour. This was probably due to 
uncertainty as to the point on which Rosecrans would hurl his left and 
centre. The latter's movement required McCook to delay the opera- 
tions of Hardee for at least three hours. Believing that his pioposed 
attack on the left would fully compensate for all losses on the right, 
Roseci-ans gave no heed to McCook's first report, but pushed his own 
movement with vigor. But the roar of battle growing nearer, at last 
convinced him of danger to the Twentieth Corps. When later dis- 
patches were received from McCook, the commanding general acted 
promptly. There was not a moment to lose. Disaster to the right 
could not be repaired bv smashing the I'ebel left, for the right had to be 
rescued from its dangerous position. 

The enemy was already trying to cut ofl' his communications and 
drive him back to the river. The forces massed on the left must be 
pushed forward to oppose the victors. In a moment the troops were 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 87 

marching toward the cedar wood. Rosecrans brought back Van Cleve 
and sent him with Wood's division to a point where the Nashville road 
crosses a plain, the defense of which was of great importance. With- 
out waiting for the execution of these orders, the general galloped to 
the centre, where a new battle had just begun. Wither's division had 
attacked the Union position on that side with great fierceness. Sheridan 
came to the front with equal vigor. He had been expecting this attack 
since daylight and was prepared to receive it. Sill's brigade on the 
right, Roberts' on the left, were posted along the wooded slopes and 
among rocks, whence they commanded several large cotton fields which 
the enemy would have to pass without shelter. Their batteries were 
placed in the most prominent positions, and Schaeflerwas ready to help 
them. When Cleburne was stopped in front of the hospital, Polk made 
his great attack on the Federal centre. The left column, led by Cheat- 
ham, marched against Sheridan. Loomis' brigade on the left, that of 
Marrigault on the right, bravely advanced amidst a shower of balls and 
scrapnel which thinned their ranks. 

Our lines were compelled to abandon some ground, and on retak- 
ing possession of it they found themselves exposed to a still more severe 
fire than at first. Loomis was wounded and his men driven back. Marri- 
gault on the right was also repulsed after great slaughter. Cheatham 
pushed his second line forw^ard, Vaughn resumed the fight on the left, 
and Maney on the right, but these attacks were fruitless. 

Sheridan was in the midst of his soldiers, whose efforts he directed 
with the quick glance of a leader who knows how to turn the least ob- 
stacle to account. Just as Vaughn's troops were beginning to give way. 
Sill boldly assumed the offensive, charged and drove them back in dis- 
order. In a short space of time the Confederates lost one-third of their 
effective force. But the heroic Sill fell mortally wounded in the midst 
of his retreating enemy. Maney's brigade, which Cheatham had hurled 
on the right, became engaged with Roberts' troops, but gained no 
ground. It was not so completely repulsed as Vaughn and Loomis' 
troops. But a fresh danger was about to compel Sheridan to surrender 
part of the ground which the enemy had so unsuccessfully attacked in 
front. Davis had just been dislodged from the hospital, and his whole 
division was driven back on the Wilkinson road. Here Polk's force 
and Johnson's brigade of Cleburne's division struck the extremity of 
Sheridan's line, where Sill's soldiers stood, hardly recovered from a too 
dear success. Almost at the same time Liddel's and McNair's troops, 
extending on the right in the pursuit of Davis, who was in full retreat, 



88 THE LIFE OF 

threatened to surround Sheridan completely. But neither himself nor 
his soldiers were disconcerted at finding themselves in this dangerous 
position. Instead of allowing the division to be carried away by the 
movement of his neighbors, Sheridan did not hesitate to make, under 
the very fire of the enemy, a change of front. This enabled him to 
preserve the important position he occupied with the least possible loss 
of ground. He could not abandon this position without uncovering 
the centre of the army, as he had himself been uncovered by the rout 
of the right. The cedar wood, the eastern margin of which he so suc- 
cessfully defended, extended to the Wilkinson pike at the southeast, 
but the southern border soon receded again, to make room for a square- 
shaped clearing. 

It was upon this receding margin of the woods that Sheritlan 
resolved to rest his new line, facing south. His left still lay joined 
to Negley's right, which he thus continued to protect, and he only 
abandoned the extreme end of the wood, which stretched out as far as 
the Wilkinson road — a point where he had run the risk of being 
surrounded. In order to efiect this conversion, Sheridan brought the 
brigades of Sill and Schaetler to the rear. As soon as the Confederates 
started in pursuit of them, Roberts' brigade made a vigorous charge, 
thus freeing the wood and enabling the other two brigades to efiect 
their change of front, after which the former came in its turn to take 
position alongside of them. Shortly after Cheatham's first attack upon 
Sheridan, Withers, on his right, had directed one of his brigades under 
Anderson, against Negley's division. This was in conformity with 
Bragg's instructions, who desired that the battle be gradually extended 
from left to right. But this isolated brigade was received with a territic 
artilkMy fire, excellently handled. It caused such loss that it fell liack 
rapidly on Stewart's brigade in the second rebel line, which had just 
moved to its assistance. In one of its reginicnts. tlio Thirteenth Missis- 
sippi, out of a total of 3^0 men, sixtv-two were killetl and 132 wounded. 

A little later Sheridan, being menaced by Cheatham and Cleburne 
at once, fell back to secure a better position. From his second position 
his artillerv flanked a portion of !McCown's troops, who had attacked 
his right wing. His shells bursting in the rear of the Confederates, 
gave Hardee to understand that he could not advance further without 
ilanger, and that before following up his successes on the extreme left 
it was necessary for him to overcome the tbrmidable adversary who by 
his tenacit}' paralyzed the whole movement of his army. While bring- 
ing back his left for the purpose of dislodging Sheridan, he requested 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 89 

Bragg to order the troops forming the Confederate centre to support 
him. Withers received oi'ders to attack the Union troops posted before 
him with all his force. 

It was at this juncture that the new movements ordered by Rose- 
crans for bringing the left into line with Thomas, put Rousseau's division 
along the north margin of the wood behind Sheridan, so as to support 
him if necessary. Van Cleve's division on this new alignment of the 
right, lay between the wood and the railroad. Further to the rigfht 
Harper's brigade of Wood's division was placed ; the latter general 
remaining in reserve with two of his brigades. 

Qiiickly as the new line was formed, it could not prevent the Con- 
federates from winning some partial success. Rosecrans proceeded in 
person to Negley's division, forming the centre of this new disposition. 
His arrival renewed the fierce combat. Polk's right was vigorously 
executing its orders. Stewart was again attacking Negley. Chalmers 
advanced on Palmer. Hardee, recalling McCown, again attacked 
Sheridan, who again had to make a second change of front, more diffi- 
cult than were his first mancEuvres, in order to avoid being taken in 
flank. Falling back a short distance before the enemy, who was press- 
ing him on every side, Sheridan ordered his two brigades on the right 
to face to the west, and they found themselves back to back with Neg- 
ley's division. Roberts' brigade, having turned toward the south, placed 
itself at right angles to these two bodies of troops, so as to cover their 
flank. This formation in a sharp angle, which was only feasible in the 
midst of woods, and under the protection of their thickness, presented 
a solid obstacle against the rebel's attacks. In order to render the posi- 
tion still stronger, Sheridan had massed all the cannon he had in front 
of Roberts, which was the point most menaced, and the key to the whole 
position. His energy thus enabled him to resist for nearly an hour all 
of Hardee's attacks ; and it may be said that this hour saved the Federal 
army from an irreparable disaster. In fact, while Polk's command, 
which was obliged to charge Negley's and Palmer's position in front 
and across large open fields, was exhausting itself in fruitless eflbrts 
against them, Rosecrans had formed a new line with fresh troops from 
the left, which alone could enable him to check the rebel march. 
Sheridan could not prolong his resistance in such a hazardous position. 
His soldiers were thinned out. Roberts, Schaefter, and Sill were killed. 
The enemy after three fruitless attacks still returned to the charge. At 
last ammunition was failing them, Wharton's cavalry having either 
captured or dispersed all the wagon trains of McCook's corps. The 



90 THE LIFE OF 

time had arrived for retiring. Sheridan rallied around him the remains 
of his division, which left behind on the ground so stubbornly disputed, 
and around the dismounted guns which could not be taken along, i,Soo 
men killed or wounded, and proceeded to re-form his lines in the rear 
of the cedar wood he had so stubbornl}^ held. 

Rosecrans having formed his new line, found himself at Sheridan's 
position. He at once ordered Rousseau to enter the cedar wood, in 
order to prevent the enemy from taking his entire centre in reverse, and 
to cover Negley's right flank in the place of Sheridan. The latter had 
hardly withdrawn before Rousseau was fiercely assailed, and on every 
side. The Federals, favored by the thickets, were able to open a pas- 
sage for themselves at the point of the bayonet, through the enemy's 
lines which surrounded them, but they left a great many prisoners in 
their hands. 

Rousseau had formed his division in column on the right, in order 
to reach the position which had been assigned him, and hardly had 
time to deploy his first brigade when the latter met the enemy, to whom 
the retreat of Sheridan and Negley had imparted new ardor. This 
brigade, consisting of four battalions of regular infantry and the Fif- 
teenth Kentucky under Colonel Shepherd, opened its ranks to let the 
fugitives pass whom the enemy was driving before him, and then 
waited steadily for the attack. It had just formed in a clearing west 
of the new position Sheridan had taken. The rest of the division 
found itself fronting the main forces which had just driven Sheridan 
and Negley. The wood was full of disbanded soldiers. The enemy 
could not be seen, but the swarms of fugitives told of his approach ; all 
the artillery blocked up the roads, and to extricate it, Rousseau was 
compelled to fall back, thus preventing a new disaster. While Shep- 
herd's force was covering his retreat by vigorously resisting the enemy, 
he sent the artillery away in a semi-circle and again brought them to 
the field between the road and the wood. Rousseau then hastily 
re-formed his lines under the fire of the enemy. Thomas and Rose- 
crans hastened to the spot; Thomas directing his troops as coolly as if 
on parade. Rousseau's three batteries took position on a height 
over which the railroad passes into a cut, supported on their right by 
the engineer brigade, which had been keeping the hill alone. 

Rousseau's brigades under Shepherd, Beatty, and Scribner, extended 
to the left in front of the turnpike. In their rear, Sheridan's and Has- 
call's brigades of Wood's division had been detained on the road, trying 
to stem the current of fugitives. The Confederates, invigorated by sue- 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 91 

cess, were coming from the wood again. Although their Hnes were 
thinned, they came in perfect order and confident of victory. 

While Cleburne was following Rousseau's troops, McCown's division 
had taken a similar direction toward the northwest. By this course it 
would reach Burrows' House. General Hardee led in person. General 
Bragg had sent him plenty of reinforcements because his own position 
was not menaced. The reinforcements could not reach Hardee before 
2 p. M., and he had to go on fighting with troops that had been under 
fire all the morning. Rains (once Sheridan's commander in Oregon), 
whose troops had not been exposed, was placed fronting the hill held 
by Rousseau. Liddel, McNair, and Ector deployed on his left. They 
dislodged Jeff. C. Davis' division from the cedar wood and came out 
into the plain, to be met by the oblique fire of Rousseau's guns. Rains 
was killed and his men retreated. There were three other brigades in 
great danger in the clearing, and Hardee was unable to protect them 
unless he brought all his artillery to the front so as to occupy that of the 
Union army. 

By this time the Confederates were entirely exhausted and needed 
rest or reinforcements. In the centre they were doing better because 
they were not so tired. As soon as Polk saw Negley driven out of 
the wood by Cheatham, he sent Withers against Palmer's division. 
Thomas' movement having uncovered Palmer's right, the latter was 
soon turned by Cheatham, while Withers drove the brigades of Cruft 
and Grose back upon the Nashville road. From noon till 2 o'clock 
the battle was almost suspended, preparations being made for a last 
effort. Bragg decided not to send the reinforcements Polk had asked 
for, concluding that they could not be spared from his right. 

About 2 p. M. the attack was renewed. The firingof musketry began 
with fresh fury. It was growing late and Bragg in order to secure 
victory must possess himself of the Nashville causeway before dark. 
Toward 3 o'clock Cleburne advanced alone against the position held by 
Van Cleve. This was the fiercest hour, the rebels fighting like demons. 
The whole force on both sides became engaged. Several Confederate 
regiments losthalf their number in a few minutes, and our loss was very 
heavy, also. Rosecrans, always at the post of greatest danger, ordered 
his soldiers to "fire low and close." " Some brave fellows must be sacri- 
ficed for the sake of victory, — cross yourselves and march forward." 
It was certainly not victory, says the Comte de Pai'is, but the salvation 
of the Federal army. Not a breach had been made in its last position 
when the battle suddenly ceased, just before night spread her mantle 



9^ 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



over this tield of carnage. The fight had histed ten hours. On the 
Federal side, Sheridan and Hazen had signalized themselves among all 
for their indomitable tenacity. More than seven thousand men were 
missing at roll-call. Sheridan had lost one-third of his division. 
When Sheridan reported to Rosecrans with his shattered command, 
at thetimeof his withdrawal later in the day, the little commander said, 
with the big tears coursing down his cheeks : " This is all there is left of 
it, general." 

The French writer has been taken as, on the whole, the most impar- 
tial authoritv. His powerful description of the great battle places 
Sheridan in the foremost rank of oiu" division commanders, and proves 
again what Perryville so clearlv developed — his ability to hold the key 
of any position or line to which he should be assigned. 

A song that strayed from the rebel lines was altered and adopted 
about these days, to tit the estimation in which Sheridan was held by 
his soldiers, and those of the Union army generally : 

" He's in the saddle now ! fall in ! 

Steadily there, all brigades ! 
Sheridan calls — 'Fall in, we'll win 

Our wav with ball and blades.' 
What matter if our troops are worn.' 

What matter if our ranks are torn .'' 
Qiiick step now, Victory will dawn ! 

That's.our Sheridan's way." 




Chapter VIII. 



MOVING TOWARDS CHICKAAIAUGA. 

THE TLLLAHOMA CAMTAIGX — SHEKIDAN's PART IN ROSECRAXS' .MOVEMENTS 
— ALWAYS ON TIME AND IN THE RIGHT PLACE — INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE 
ON THE MARCH AND IN CAMP — ESTIMATED BY HIS MEN — A POPULAR 
GENERAL — A HARD FIGHTER AND GOOD TACTICIAN. 

Stone Rivek %vas named at the time '' that great tiivnace of afflic- 
tion." Its etlect on the country as well as the Army of the Cumber- 
land was immediately inspiriting. However close a call on Rosccrans 
the cold military critics of later days may regard it, the feeling of the 
country was that a great and very important \ictory had been ^von. It 
came in opportunely, also, to strengthen the President's emancipation 
policy, and to inspire the people to a renewal of continued exertions. 
The dawn of the new year saw the Confeilerate army inider Bragg 
moving awa}' rapidly to the southeast. TuUahoma, on the Tennessee 
River, became again the rebel headquarters, while the Union army 
under Rosccrans moved into Murfreesboro', occupving it as a winter 
camp. On the 5th of Januarv the headquarters of the Army of the 
Cumberland were established in this now historic town of Tennessee. 
It has since acquired another reputation, as the home of the accom- 
plished writer who, under the name of " Egbert Craddock," has of late 
vears made the American public familiar with the people, idioms, and 
scenes of that region. 

General Rosccrans received and published to his army the following 
dispatches : 

To Major-Gexeual Rosecraxs : 

Your dispatch announcing the retreat of the enemy has just reached 
here — God bless you, and all with you. Please tender to all. and accept 
for yourself, a nation's gratitude for their skill and endurance. 

A. LlNCOL.N. 
Washington. Januarv 5th. 1S63. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 9^ 

To ?vIajor-Gex. Rosecrans : 

The field of Muifreesboro' is made historical. You have won the 
gratitude of your country, and the admiration of the world. All honor 
to the Army of the Cumberland. 

H. W. Halleck. 

General Rosecrans in his report of the campaign and battle did 
ample justice, among other mention and recommendation, to the services, 
skill, and courage of Brigadier-General Sheridan, whose promotion to 
a major-generalcy was asked and given. Our gallant soldier was but 
thijty-one years of age when he wore the double stars on his shoulders. 
How he was regarded by the enemy against whom he fought mav be 
aptly illustrated by the following anecdote : 

Apoor fellow, worn out in the retreat from Murfreesboro', found an 
old mule which he got astride of. He was without shoes, hat, or coat, 
and wore only an old gray hunting shirt torn into tatters and a very 
ragged pair of pants. But he had his pipe in his mouth, and was 
happy. Bragg and his private secretary, Major Hunter, were coming 
along the same road. 

" Who are you.'"' asked the Confederate general. 

" Nobody, " was the answer. 

" Where do you come from ? " 

" Nowhere." 

•' Where are you going.-*" 

"I don't know." 

" Where do you belong? " 

" Don't belong anywhere." 

" Don't you belong to Bragg's army .^" 

' *■ Bragg's army — Bragg's army .'" replied the chap. ' * Wh}-, he's got 
no army ! One-half of it was shot in Kentucky, and the other half has 
just been whipped to death by that little whelp Sheridan, at Murfrees- 
boro'." 

Bragg asked no more questions. 

The winter camp became a jolly one. There was work to do and 
plenty of it, in making roads, bridges, constructing earthworks, repair- 
ing damages, drilling new recruits, scouting and raiding actively, and 
in all the multifarious preparations for the expected and longed-for for- 
ward movement of the spring. The songs and stories of that ^vinter 
are abundant and interesting also. A little and pathetic incident is 
narrated of the Stone River battle-field : While Sheridan's division lay 
along a hill crest in the famous cedar wood he and thev held with 



96 



THE LIFE OF 



such courage, the birds, rabbits, and wild turkeys that swarmed in the 
region became so frightened at the noise of the furious cannonading as 
to come out of their warrens and down from their trees and coverts, to 
creep beneath the soldiers' coats and between their legs, where they 
lay cowering in fear. 

It is told of an Irish-American volunteer, one Mike Ryan, then of 
Company K, Twenty-first Illinois, that while marching on the evening 
before the battle toward Murfreesboro', a grape shot whizzed past him 
so close as to cut away his haversack with three days' rations in it. 
Without falling out or changing countenance, Mike marched on, re- 
marking in a loud stage whisper : 

" Och, be jabers, if the inimy hasn't flanked me and cut ofl' me 
supplies. What'll I do now, begorra ! " 

It was a winter prolific of song. A couple of verses will show the 
quality and illustrate the feelings of our soldiers : 

" When those we love request a sign 

For words as jet unspoken, 
'fhat sign shall be, Remember me, 

And a Rosey wreath for token. 
And now may roses crown our land. 

May blissful peace soon come, sirs; 
May Bragg-ing traitors soon be damned. 

And we in peace, at home, sirs. 
Come, boys, fill up the brimming cup. 

We'll toast the Union ever. 
Our health, the man that can Bragg tan, — 

The hero of Stone River." 

Again, we have a ruder refrain, but equally as catching : 

" I'll sing you a song to suit the times. 

Called 'bobbin' around,' ' bobbin' around,' 
You'll see dar's reason in the rhymes 

As thej' go bobbin' around. 
Ole Rosey's down in Tennessee, 

Bobbin' around, bobbin' around ; 
And settin' all the darkies free 

As he goes bobbin' 'round. 
The big Secesh no more will be 

'Bobbin' around,' 'bobbin' around,' 
For Rosey's down in Tennessee, 

An' he am ' bobbin' around.' " 

General Rosecrans on the 5th of January, 1S63, was in ISIurfrees- 
boro' with Rousseau's and Negley's divisions of Thomas' corps. The 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 97 

five days preceding were full of great activity and severe fighting, as 
Stanley's cavalry and brigades from Crittenden's corps followed on the 
rear of the rebel armv, who retreated along the Manchester and Shelby- 
ville pikes. The Confederate cavalry was untiring and very bold in its 
eftbrts to defend Bragg's rear and retreat. They even made feints of threat- 
ening Nashville. Generals Boyle and Wright, commanding in Kentucky, 
did their utmost to assist Rosecrans by placing expeditions in the field 
to attack and pursue Morgan and other Confederate raiders. The gen- 
eral government did not content itself with congratulations only, but 
hurried to Rosecrans all the forces available. On the loth of January 
the returns of the Army of the Cumberland showed a force " present 
and absent," of 117,837 rank and file, including all arms of the service. 
This roster shows the effective force to have been 60,916. Some 
fourteen thousand fresh troops were at this time sent forward from Ken- 
tucky, under command of Major-General Gordon Granger. They 
consisted of twenty regiments of infantry, four of cavalry, and four bat- 
teries. The divisions and brigades were commanded by such soldiers 
as Baird, Crook, Judah. Gilbert, and Carter. Orders were issued for 
the purchase of horses and equipments wherewith to mount infantry, a 
movement which soon became of great value to the Union cause. 

On the Confederate side it was seen that the result of the battle of 
Stone River was disastrous to their operations in the Central South, and 
that it threatened alike their positions in the Mississippi Vallev and East 
Tennessee. General Joseph E. Johnston was in chief command of the 
army and territory of Mississippi under Pemberton, against whom Grant, 
Sherman, and Banks were operating in movements that culminated at 
last in the capture of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, also of Alabama, 
Georgia, and South and East Tennessee ; Kirby Smith holding the lat- 
ter important military section, with Chattanooga and Northern Georgia. 
Braxton Bragg was in command of the central section, having Polk 
and Hardee under him as chief field commanders. At Tullahoma, on 
the 30th of January, 1S63, his efiective force was reported at 31,315 
infantry and artillery, with 8,615 cavalry, under Morgan, Wharton, 
Wheeler, and Forrest. This made a total force under Bragg direct, of 
39,830 rank and file. The same roster reports as present and absent, 
67,1 17 infontry and 14,350 cavalry — a total of 81,468 rank and file. 
This is a difterence of 41,638 between the nominal and effective forces. 
The Confederates acknowledged a loss in killed, wounded, and missing, 
of about fifteen thousand. Their own returns show the loss must have 
been nearer twenty-five thousand, allowing the balance of the 41,000 

7 



98 THE LIFE OF 

deficiency for post and other field duty. McCown's division of Kirby 
Smith's army was at Shelbyville, breathing, after its hard and splendid 
fighting at Stone River. Its returns, dated January 1 7th, show an effective 
force of but 3,940, while the roster of " present and absent " is given at 
7,713, showing a decrease of 2,486 rank and file. This is, doubtless, a foir 
statement of its actual loss. According to Johnston's dispatches to the 
Confederate War Department, Bragg wanted 30,000 fresh troops. 
There were but 43,000 in the Department of the Mississippi, and about 
3:5,000 under Kirby Smith. Chattanooga was transferred to Bragg's 
command and the long tussle began for its possession, which was to 
end in the late fall by the overwhelming defeat of Bragg at Mission 
Ridge. It was a long road thereto, however, and the Union interest 
centered for the next five or six months on Rosecrans and Grant, — one 
preparing at Murfreesboro',and the other pounding away at Vicksburg. 
As Sheridan remained with " Rosey," attention must be again turned 
to the operations at and from that point. 

The esteem in which the gallant young major-general was held by 
those who were nearest to him is illustrated not only by the unbroken 
record of commendation he received from commanding officers, but 
by the following, among other incidents : About this date the officers 
of his division surprised him with a testimonial of their regard. A 
magnificent sword, the blade being exquisitely wrought, with jeweled 
hilt and gold-plated scabbard, while the sword belt was woven with 
bullion, with a silver mess service, a case of elegant, ivoiy-handled, 
silver-mounted Colt's revolvers, and a major-general's saddle, bridle, 
and trappings, the whole costing not less than $3,000, were presented 
to him. The presents were rendered the more acceptable and valuable 
by the evidences of goodwill and confidence with which, in written and 
spoken words, they were accompanied. 

General Sheridan has always been a man of idiosyncrasies, and one 
of them, at this time, was a great aversion to walking with old ladies. 
One very rainy day he met an old lady who wanted him to escort her 
where she was going. 

" Excuse me, madam," said he, " but it's raining too hard." 

Another time he met the same old lady, who said : " It's clearer 
now, general." 

"Yes, clear enough for one, but not clear enough for two, yet," 
was the response. 

Here is another illustration of his peculiarities : A stupid and 
garrulous person after babbling some time to Sheridan, said : 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 99 

" Sir, I fear I have been intruding on your attention." 
" No, no," said Sheridan, " I haven't been listening." 
After the occupation of Murfreesboro', though the army settled to 
camp life, there was work to be done. Railroads were rebuilt and 
bridsfes constructed across Stone River. Earthworks surrounding the 
town were built. Foraging trains scoured the country in every 
direction. So passed the months of winter and spring, the quiet of 
camp life being broken every now and then by the going out or coming 
in of foraging and raiding parties. The enemy was not idle either. 
Their chief object was to cut oft' communications and interrupt our 
supplies. 

On the 31st of January, Brigadier-General Jeft'. C. Davis, with his 
infantry division and the second brigade of cavalry (1,328 men), under 
command of Colonel Minty, left camp for an extended scout in the di- 
rection of Rosser, Eagleville, and Franklin. Colonel Minty was ordered 
to Versailles, where General Davis was to form a junction with him. 
They went to Rosser. A Confederate cavalry force of four hundred 
was found and attacked. Some fifty of them were captured, and the 
balance dispersed. Not hearing from Davis, Colonel Minty proceeded 
to Unionville, driving the enemy out of that town. Colonel Dan. 
McCook now sent a messenger to say he had taken Middletown, and 
captured Colonel Douglass. After passing through Peytonville, Pop- 
lar Grove, Franklin, Kinderhook, and Charlotte, where he camped one 
night, he proceeded on the road to Centerville, capturing a colonel and 
major upon Forrest's staft', two lieutenants and twenty-three men of 
Forrest's and Wharton's escort, one of them a courier bearing dis- 
patches. This expedition lasted till the middle of February, 1863. 
On the 3d of February, the Confederate Generals Wheeler, Forrest, 
and Wharton, at about 1.30 p. m., sent a flag of truce to Palmyra, de- 
manding the surrender of the post and garrison, which consisted of nine 
companies of the Eighty-third Illinois, a battalion of the Fifth Iowa Cav- 
alry, Flood's battery, and some wounded men. The surrender was 
promptly refused, and Colonel Harding, commanding, at once began 
preparations for defense. The fighting was very severe, and the Con- 
federates were defeated over and over again in their attacks. Their loss 
was 350 killed, 155 of whom were buried by our forces, 600 wounded, 
and 105 prisoners. 

On the 4th of March an expedition under Colonel Coburn was 
ordered to move on Spring Hill, from Franklin, ten miles south of 



loo , THE LIFE OF 

and thirty miles from Nashville. About tour miles out it met the 
enemv, and had a sharp skirmish. At Thompson's Station, on the next 
dav. thev had another severe skirmish. It soon became evident that 
Colonel Coburn had encountered the whole of Forrest's and Van 
Dorn's forces. At\er severe fighting on both sides, Coburn was com- 
pelled to surrender, and he and his men (1,306) were made prisoners 
and sent south. The engagement is known as the battle of Spring- 
Hill. While this battle was being fought. General Sheridan with his 
division and Colonel Minty with a force of S63 cavalry, were out on 
a ten davs' scout. Colonel Mintv drove the enemv out of Rosser and 
Unionville, pursuing them to within five miles of Shelbyville, where 
McCown's division had its headquarters. The colonel then fell back 
to Eagleville, and was joined there by Sheridan on the morning of 
tlie Sth of March. On the 6th and 7th he moved towards Triune and 
Unionville. On the Sth he arrive*.! in Franklin. On the gth he 
marched on to Carter's Creek pike to form a junction with General G. 
Smith near Thompson's Station. Six miles out the enemy was met. 
but after a short, sharp skirmish they were driven from the field. Sheri- 
dan camped that night at Springfield. The next day Rutherford's 
Creek was forded, Forrest's cavalry disputing the passage. They soon 
fell back and were pursued for five miles toward the Lewisburg pike. 
Upon reaching Duck River it was found that \'an Dorn's whole force 
had crossed. On the atternoon of the 14th the expedition got back 
to Murfreesboro', having developed tlie strength and intentions of the 
Confederate commanders. Colonel A. S. Hall was sent out on the 
iSth of March with mounted infantry, and made a bold stand at Milton, 
fighting General J. H. Morgan and completely routing him. This was 
the first thorough defeat the rebel raider had met with. Hall got back to 
camp on the ^ i st and was warmly congratulated for his gallant fight. On 
the 1st of April Colonel Wilder started out with the Fitteenth, One Hun- 
dred First, and One Hundred Twenty-third regiments Illinois Infantry. 
He scoured the country in all directions, and on the second night con- 
centrated his force at Lebanon. He took possession of Rome and 
Cartilage on the next dav. Here he found many Union families desti- 
tute, while the rebels had plenty. The goods of the latter were distrib- 
uted among the former. To one a dollar's worth of captured cotton 
varn would be thrown, to another a tired-out horse or mule would be 
given. Able-bodied negroes who chose to accompany the armv were 
promised work and clothes, and a large number accompanied his return. 
While Wilder was making this raid he was marching by a place where 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. loi 

an active and bitter rebel was at work getting in his fat cattle. He 
looked rather astonished when our cavalry advance was followed by his 
horses. The quartermaster then came next with his mules and the con- 
tents of his corn-cribs. When the commissary marched by with all his 
extra fat cattle, the rebel farmer was in great alarm, and wanted to know 
if thev were not going to pav him for his goods. 

•• We are not paving money, at present, to any one," blandly an- 
swered Wilder, " but we will give you a receipt for all. Providing 
you prove at the close of the war vour lovaltv, vou'll get vour monev 
for them." 

•• Well, if that's the case," said the irate rebel, •• they may go to the 
devil," and turning to a couple of darkies who were looking on with 
open mouths, he administered to them a few good kicks, exclaiming, 
'• D — n vou. go to ." 

On the loth of April Major-General Gordon Granger, with two 
divisions, fought the rebels at Franklin. The necessity upon them of 
relieving Mississippi, then feeling the etlects of Grant's operations, had 
compelled them to assume the otlensive against Rosecrans. But they 
had to fall back for want of provisions and ammunition. On the 20th 
of April McMinnville was captured by our cavalry. On the 27th a bril- 
liant dash was made upon a camp of rebels at Carter's Creek. About 
one hundred and fifty prisoners were taken, all of the First Texas Legion, 
as many horses, one hundred mules, eight Avagons, and an ambulance. 

For several months there was an almost complete lull in the Depart- 
ment of tlie Cumberland, on both sides. Murmurs were heard against 
Rosecrans* alleged inactivitv. At last, on the 23d of June, that general 
issued ortlers for an advance in force upon the enemy the following 
morning at daybreak. He sent the lesser part of the armv toward 
Shelbvville, to make a feigned movement in that direction, while the 
decisive blow was to be struck by rapitlly marching with the principal 
body upon the enemy's right, turning of pushing it out of the way, and 
thence moving quickly z'/a Manchester, upon Tullahqma, seizing the 
Confederate base at the lines of retreat, and their communications from 
that point, the object being to force them to fight on our own terms or 
scatter. To General McCook's troops, the Twentieth Army Corps, 
the task of making the first formidable attack was assigned. 

The third division of the Twentieth Corps was under arms before 
sunrise on the 24th of J^ne. Owing to a delay in receiving marching 
orders. General Sheridan's, which was to have had the advance, did 
not eet under wav on the Shelbvville road until .about 7 a. m. It 



I02 THE LIFE OF 

marched over that road, preceded by live companies of the Thirt\-ninth 
Indiana ^Mounted Infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jones, until it 
came in sight of the enemy's outposts, when it halted and bivouacked, 
according to orders, in the woods on each side of the road, paving no 
attention to the desultor}- musketry aifd artillery fire the rebels opened 
on it at intervals. Johnson's and Davis' divisions turned to the left when 
six miles out, and took the road to Liberty Gap. Up to this date the 
weather had been fine and clear, but when the troops marched out of 
camp the rain commenced falling heavily. 

Before daybreak on the same day Colonel Wilder's mounted infantry 
sti'uck tents and were soon in motion along the pike leading to ^lan- 
chester. Colonel Reynolds with the remainder of that division followed. 
Later in the day Generals Negley and Rousseau, of the Fointeenth 
Corps, followed in the same direction. Colonel Wilder was sent forward 
to within a few miles of Hoover's Gap. Nine miles from Alurfreesboro', 
the advance guard came upon the enemy's pickets. Two companies 
were deploved as skirmishers and the column moved forward, driving 
the Confederates before it. From prisoners, Colonel Wilder learned 
tliat the works commanding Hoover's Gap, constructed by Bushrod 
Johnston, were not occupied. He determined to take possession of 
them before knowledge of our movements could reach Bragg. This 
he accomplished, taking several prisoners. Hoover's Gap atloi'ded 
strong defensive points, but they were practically unused. Colonel 
Wilder hurried forward and took position on the hill commanding 
the road and the enemy's camp. By this move he captured a tiain 
of nine wagons, a drove of fine cattle, and fifteen prisoners. The 
long-roll was heard in the rebel camp soon after, and Wilder deployed 
his men for battle. Captain Lillev hurried his battery forward to a 
cleared eminence, while the Twenty-third Illinois, under Colonel 
Monroe, was moved up to the battery's support. The Sevent}--second 
Indiana formed near; Colonel Jordan, of the Seventeenth Indiana, also 
took position, and Colonel Funkhouser, with the Ninety-eighth Illinois, 
formed some distance to the right but on the same ridge. Soon after, 
the firing of artillery announced tlie opening of battle, and tlie rebels 
replied directlv. Five regiments of their infantiy rose from the low 
ground near the stream and came charging across the rolling but open 
field toward the Seventeenth Indiana. They approached witlyn range 
and received a volley that checked but did not stay their charge. Sup- 
posing our guns exhausted, a cheer followed the report, and they moved 
on. Again Wilder's Spencer rifles (twelve-shooters) poured in their 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 103 

rain of bullets, and still the enemy pressed on. They were nearing the 
line in large force, and the colonel "was looking anxiously for assistance. 
Ultimate capture seemed inevitable. Not a man, however, left our 
lines. Just as hope was giving way, successive volleys on the right 
announced reinforcements. The united firing of the Ninety-eighth and 
Seventeenth regiments sent the enemy flying from the field. 

The importance of this victory was seen by the general command- 
ing. He said, "■ Wilder has saved us thousands of men." The loss in 
two hours of fighting was sixty-three killed and wounded. The rebel 
forces engaged were Liddel's, Wharton's, and Bate's brigades, number- 
ing fifteen regiments. During this time brilliant work was being done 
at Libert)- Gap, through which jMajor-General iSIcCook was to pass in 
advancing upon Cleburne's division. General Benjamin Harrison, in 
advance with one battalion of the Thirty-ninth Indiana Mounted 
Infantry, discovered a force of about eight hundred rebel infantry at 
about I p. M., near the gap. General Willich led our column. It pushed 
on under a heavv fire through the open fields, with loud cheers, and soon 
drove the rebels in precipitate flight, capturing their tents, baggage, and 
supplies. General Johnson ordered Willich to rally and briefly rest his 
brigade. Colonel Baldwin took the lead and cleared the upper edge 
of the gap. Advancing rapidly he soon found the enemy in force, a 
brigade of infantry and a battery of artillery being in a strong position 
on each side of the road. Placing the Louisville Legion (Fifth Ken- 
tucky) on the right and the Sixth Indiana on the left of the road, with 
skirmishers in front, and the Ninety-third Ohio as a resei've, and direct- 
ing a section of the Fifth Ohio Battery, under Lieutenant Ellison, to 
engage the rebel battery, Baldwin made an attack under a severe fire. 
After a sharp conflict the enemy was driven out and he occupied 
their position in fine style. The following day General Johnson held 
the position his men had won the day before. In the forenoon Willich's 
brigade was ordered to picket duty on the front. After two or three 
trifling skirmishes, an attack in force was made on our lines. Counter- 
charging, we drove them several miles. About 3 o'clock the am- 
munition of the Thirty-second Indiana and the Eighty-ninth Illinois 
giving out. General Willich ordered the Fifteenth Ohio to advance. 
They divided up their ammunition with the two former regiments and 
thus kept the enemy in check. Soon after Willich ordered the Forty- 
ninth Ohio behind the centre of the line, and placed Goodspeed's bat- 
tery on the hill, where it did very good service. About the same time 
Willich sent word to General Johnson that the fight was becoming 



I04 THE LIFE OF 

serious. Between five and six the ammunition of the Fifteenth Ohio, 
the Thirty-second Indiana, and the Eighty-ninth Illinois was entirely 
exhausted. General Willich then ordered the Forty-ninth Ohio to 
charge. General Johnson in the absence of General Davis, who was 
sick, had ordered Carlin's brigade of the First Division to the support 
of the Second Brigade. Advancing across the valley with a dash, it 
came up on the right of the latter. General Davis having left his sick- 
bed upon the first sound of battle, arrived in front just in time to see 
this charge of his men. Shortly after the appearance of Carlin's bri- 
gade the enemy abandoned the contest. The order being to check, not 
attack them, the fighting ceased. 

The two gaps in the Cumbei"land Range, Liberty and Hoover's, were 
the keys of this position, and their loss to the enemy at once determined 
him to retreat. Upon obtaining these facts, on the ist of July, General 
Rosecrans, perceiving that he could go through them and flank Bragg 
at Tullahoma, at once threw his whole force forward in rapid pursuit, 
Thomas moving on the Manchester road and McCook on the one toward 
Tullahoma. The division of General Negley encountered the rear of 
Hardee at a point about four miles north of Elk River, and skirmished 
with it all day. The enemy's rear guard under Wheeler made a stub- 
born resistance, enabling his trains to get beyond the river. During the 
night by great exertion Bragg drew oft' his reserve of artillery — twenty- 
six pieces — across Elk River, at Estelle Springs, and reached Tin 
Mountain. They burned the bridges on both roads, and the rear guard 
took up positions on the opposite side of the Elk. The heavy rains 
had also swollen the river to a great height. General Crittenden with 
his corps was sent by a rapid march to take possession of the road 
leading from Deschard, via Tracy City, to Chattanooga. This move- 
ment was successful, and forced the enemy to take roads across the 
mountains. On the morning of the 3d, General McCook crossed at 
the mouth of Rock Creek, below Bragg's position, in front of our 
right, and thus flanked the road to Winchester and the mountains. At 
the upper bridge, under Negley, a similar movement was made, with 
still better success. Rousseau and Brannan were sent to the upper 
crossing to come down on the rear of the enemy, whom Negley was to 
detain, — not to drive. It was thought that Rousseau could cross by 
lo o'clock ; but the swollen state of the river prevented that, and only 
a few troops got over in time. In the meanwhile a cavalry brigade 
came in upon the rebels' right flank. Their firing was mistaken for 
that of Rousseau, and Negley opened with two batteries on the rebel 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. lo^ 

position, i.ooo yards distant. The Hrst tire dismounted one gun and 
killed several of their gunners. They were taken completely by sur- 
prise and made very little resistance, retreating precipitately to the 
mountains. General Turchin had engaged the rebel right, and after a 
fight of two hours drove it and the entire rebel force from the field. 
The troops were thus enabled to cross on the morning of the 3d. 
They moved only a short distance, Negley encamping on the battle- 
field, and Rousseau and Brannan on the bank of the river. McCook in 
the meantime advanced and occupied Winchester, Deschard. and 
Cowan. On the morning of July 4th our whole force advanced to 
the foot of the mountains at Cowan, to find the enemy in full retreat 
on Chattanooga. Aleanwhile Generals Stanley and Granger marched 
on and took possession of Shelbyville, meeting with little opposition, 
and capturing several guns and 300 prisoners. The Union citizens of 
Shelbyville greeted our troops with waving of fiags and great delight. 
Bragg's retreat demoralized his armv. This was shown by incidents 
like the following : 

Some of our men pushed to Elk River to repair a bridge. Wliile 
one of the men was bathing, five of Bragg's soldiers, guns in hand, came 
to the bank and took aim at the swimmer, one of them shouting, 

" Come in here, you d d Vank, out of the \vet ! " 

The Federal was sure he was done for, and at once obeyed the 
order. After dressing himself he was thus accosted : 

•• You surrender our prisoner, do you?" 

•* Yes, of course I do." 

•• That's kind ; now we'll surrender to you," and the five stacked 
arms before him, their spokesman adding, " We're done with 'em, 
and said * Good-bye ' to old Bragg. Now vou surround us and take us 
to your camp ! " It was done accordingly. 

To return briefi}- : On the 3d of July, after Bragg retreated from 
Elk River, Thomas and McCook advanced to Tullahoma, and pressed 
hard on his rear, hoping to strike a fatal blow before he reached the 
Elk River, but they failed to do so. The roads, cut up by the re- 
treating army and saturated with continued rain, were impassable, and 
Bragg escaped across the river. When the Elk was crossed, on the 
3d of July, Sheridan forced a passage at Rock Creek Ford. The 
Confederates having the railway for use in heavy transportation, were 
swarming in comparatively light marching order on the loft}' and 
rugged ranges of the Cumberland Mountains, bv \vay of Tautallont and 
University. Thus they were well on their way toward Chattanooga. 



io6 THE LIFE OF 

Rosecrans advanced his army to near the foot of these mountains, and 
finding Bragg had got too far ahead to be easily overtaken, halted his 
entire force, chiefly on the high tableland between Winchester, Des- 
chard, Manchester, and McMinnville. On the 5th of July Van Cleve, 
who had been left at Murfreesboro', arrived, and moved toward Mc- 
Minnville. Bragg pushed on over the mountains, crossed the Tennes- 
see River at Bridgeport, where he destroyed the bridge behind him, and 
made his way to Chattanooga. Bragg saw that he must hold Chatta- 
nooga, it being the key to East Tennessee, and, indeed, also of Northern 
Georgia. Every effort was afterward made for that purpose, even to 
the weakening of Lee's army in Virginia. 

Rosecrans now had the control of the railroad to Stephenson, and 
put it in order vmder the skillful Colonel Innis and his Michigan en- 
gineers. Sheridan's division was advanced to the leading section of 
the road to hold the same. Stanley with the cavalry then swept 
down in a southwesterly direction, by way of Fayetteville and Athens, 
Alabama, to cover the line of the Tennessee from Whitesburg eastward. 
As forage was scarce in the mountain region through which he passed, 
Bragg's troops having consumed the last blade of grass, Rosecrans 
delayed his march until the Indian corn was large enough to furnish a 
supply. Finally in the middle of August, the army went forward to 
cross the Tennessee to capture Chattanooga. 

The Army of the Cumberland was the centre of national interest. 
Halleck ordered Burnside to move down and connect with Rosecrans, 
and directed General Hurlbut, at Memphis, to send all of his available 
forces to Corinth and Tuscumbia to operate against Bragg, shcTuld he 
attempt a flank movement, and, if necessary, to ask Grant or Sherman 
at Vicksburg for reinforcements. He also telegraphed to the com- 
mander at Vicksburg to send all available forces to the line of the 
Tennessee River. Similar orders were sent to Schofield in Missouri 
and to Pope in the Northwestern Department. The commanders in 
Ohio and Kentucky were ordered to make every exertion to secure 
Rosecrans' communications. It was determined that Bragg should not 
cross the Tennessee River again. 

There was no effort spared to also strengthen Bragg. Buckner 
was sent to join him. Johnston sent him a strong brigade from Missis- 
sippi under Walker, and thousands of prisoners paroled by Grant and 
Banks at Vicksburg, were sent to swell his ranks. 

In this way Bragg was rapidly gathering a large force in front of 
Pigeon Mountain, near Lafayette, while Longstreet was making his 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 107 

way up from Atlanta. His arrival increased the Confederate army to 
80,000 men. 

General Rosecrans pursued his advantage and pressed on Chatta- 
nooga. Wilder was in front of that place on the 3ist of August, 1S63. 
He announced his presence by throwing a few shells into the town 
from the position which he was occupying. This created a panic 
among Bragg's men. They had a gang of slaves at work fortifying" on 
the south side, but were not at all prepared for an attack. Wilder, how- 
ever, after cannonading all day, had not waited for the enemy to seek 
him on the opposite heights. Bragg recalled to Chattanooga, Ander- 
son's brigade, which, posted in front of Bridgeport, was to oppose the 
crossing by Rosecrans, of the Tennessee River, The place chosen by 
Rosecrans for a pontoon bridge was the ferry at Caperton's, near Steph- 
enson. As this bridge would not suffice for the entire army, Sheridan 
had undertaken to construct at Bridgeport one of trestles, to be finished 
as early as the 27th. Brannan and Reynolds were also busy making 
bridges for their troops to cross. 

All this could not escape the attention of Bragg. But his attention 
was also distracted higher up by Hazen,who made a feint of crossing the 
Tennessee in front of Harrison, and also by news concerning Burnside's 
movements. He sent part of Hardee's corps to guard the river above 
Chattanooga. Meanwhile Rosecrans had finished his preparations, 
Sheridan began to build the bridge at Bridgeport, while Davis launched 
the pontoons at Caperton's Ferry. 

Bragg was at last warned. He called back Wheeler's two divisions, 
placed Martin at Trenton in Will's Valley, and Wharton behind him, 
near Chattanooga. On the 29th the bridges were finished ; Davis, 
crossing the river, made the Caperton's ferry-boat fast to the left bank, 
while the cavalry, fording a little lower, met the Confederate vedettes 
in front of the landing place and drove them away. Five hours later 
the infantry began to cross. Sheridan found nothing confronting him, 
but an accident caused the breaking of the trestle bridge at Bridgeport, 
and his troops were not able to cross before the 2d of September. 
Bragg had not annoyed them in any way, though he was but twenty- 
two miles distant. He afterwards said that up to the 31st of August 
he was ignorant of Rosecrans' movements. He still gave his atten- 
tion to the feints that were being made above Chattanooga. 

Rosecrans, to deceive the enemy still more, on the 3d of September 
gave to General Hazen the command of Wagner's, Wilder's, and 
Minty's mounted troops, which with his own force, made his command 



io8 THE LIFE OF 

about seven thousand strong. He was then to make a feint of crossing 
the Tennessee. Hazen executed this order perfectly. Moving with 
his ti'oops simultaneously at several crossings, he caused his artillery to 
pass to and fro, and built bivouac tires, doing so well that the Confeder- 
ates thought they had a whole armv before them. 

Davis' and Johnson's divisions of the Twentieth Armv Corps, crossed 
on pontoons from the 29th to the 31st of August. The bridge at Bridge- 
port had to be so strengthened as to enable Thomas and Sheridan to 
transfer their heavy artillerv and trains to the southern shore. On the 
zd of September, after Sheridan had crossed with his infantrv, 216 
yards of the trestle work again broke down. Tliis was tixed by dint of 
hard labor in two days, and on the 4th of September, early in the morn- 
ing, Baii'd's division, followed by all the artillery and wagons of the 
Fourteenth Corps, hied over. Xeglev followed Johnson at Caperton's 
Ferry, and going up the left bank bivouacked near Taylor's store. He 
had thus passed to the rear of Sheridan, who proceeded from Bridge- 
port to Trenton in order to effect a iunction with the other two divisions 
of the Twentieth Corps. On the same day, McCook sent Davis down 
into Will's Valley, whom Johnson had relieved on the summit of 
Raccoon ^Mountain. On the 3d, each division made a forward move- 
ment. On tlie left, Brannan and Reynolds proceeded up the Nickajack 
Valley, in which was a grotto that furnished the Confederates with salt- 
petre. It was therefore very precious, and our capture of it was a 
severe loss to the enemv. This force proceeded to Lookout Creek. 
Negley toiled up tlie slopes of Raccoon Mountain. On the right, 
McCook*s three divisions occupied the eastern declivity of ttiat mount- 
ain and descended easilv into Will's Vallev, between Trenton and 
Johnson's Creek. 

On the 4th instant, two divisions of the Twentieth Corps were near 
Trenton with Sheridan. Bv this date all the Union army, with the 
exception of Hazen's four brigades, had cleared the Tennessee, and 
were collected on the eastern side of the Raccoon Mountain. 

Bragg, troubled and undecided, had until now remained inactive. 
On the 1st of September, he concluded to wait for his enemy on the 
plain to the east of Lookout Mountain. Only one serious motive could 
justify this plan : it brought him nearer to the reinforcements that were 
promised, and by delaving the struggle gave them time to arrive. But 
it involved the evacuation of Chattanooga, which was a necessary sacri- 
fice if Stephen's Gap was abandoned to the L^nion army. Long trains 
carried to Atlanta all the material accumulated in Chattanoogfa for two 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 109 

3'ears, but the commanding general did not yet set his troops in motion. 
Polks' command had, however, taken the line of march in the direction 
of Lafayette. On the Sth, the rear guard left the works so laboriously 
thrown up around Chattanooga. Next morning the whole of Polk's 
corps was halting at Gordon's Mills, on the banks of the West Chicka- 
mauga River. Buckner had been left on the Hiawasseetwo days. On 
the 7th of September he received orders to start at once to the south. 
Marching over forty-four miles in forty-eight hours, Buckner on the 
9th arrived upon the banks of the Chickamauga, and placed himself a few 
miles above Polk's corps, on Anderson's farm. On the Sth, Wagner's 
outposts reported to Rosecrans that the enemy appeared to be evacuat- 
ing Chattanooga. He immediately sent Crittenden to ascertain the 
fact. On the 9th, in the morning, Beattv's and Grose's brigades climbed 
Lookout Mountain to Summertown, on the summit, and looking down, 
saw Chattanooga deserted. At noon the Federal army was occupyino- 
the Gate City of the Confederacy. 

In this campaign Sheridan's division did its full share of the heavy 
work it required. Owing to the nature of the operations, however, it 
afforded no scope for that terrible tenacity and stubborn fighting which 
had marked him on the battle-fields of Perryville and Stone River. But 
what the Tullahoma campaign most fully developed was the little 
soldier's ability to meet all the exigencies of dangerous marches, bold 
tactics, and daring engineering work, in the constant expectation of 
sharp attack and severe fighting. Nor was he found wanting in any 
one of these emergencies. It has been customary to consider Sheridan 
as a great fighter, and tiiat onh'. But the careful reviewer of his won- 
derful career will find that he could think as well as fight ; plan as well 
as attack ; consider conditions before moving, and that, in fact, his 
apparent audacity and recklessness in the field itself, was based upon 
the conditions preceding as well as surrounding him. Even as a divi- 
sion commander he was not alone a soldier and fighter ; he was a leader 
and a general also. 



Chapter IX. 



THE BATTLE OF CH1CKAA\AUGA. 

THE FIELD IN WHICH SHERIDAN WAS TKAINEH — ROSECRANS" MOVEMENTS 

HOW THE COMMANDER OF CAVALRY WAS MADE — THE DEADLY CHICKA- 
MAUGA — SHERIDAN AND DAVIS SAVE THE RIGHT WING — HOLDING THE 

GAP AT DRY VALLEY' LONGSTREET's VETERANS — FIGHTING CHEATHAM 

AGAIN — ALWAYS A TOWER ON MARCH AND FIELD. 

•' Old Brains" planned in the spring of 1S62, a campaign designed 
to secure the control and possession of Chattanooga. In the early daj^s 
of September, 1S63, the Army of the Cumberland once more un- 
furled the flag of our Union over this very important strategctical 
position. In this narrative, there will be little to do with criticis- 
ing, pro or ow, the operations of the commanding generals. The 
personal and descriptive features, with results, and the action leading 
thereto, are the objects of our work. It is well, however, to suggest 
that the leading operations of the Union armies during the years of 
the Civil War, were largely based upon grand strategetical necessi- 
ties. The great topographical fields upon which their movements 
were directed rendered this a necessity ; yet as a matter of fact most 
writers and critics have either missed or avoided such important con- 
siderations in formulating their judgments. The Union campaigns 
have, as a rule, been treated too often as so many bold and brave, but 
isolated endeavors, while the fact remains that each of them was in the 
main, part of a pre-considered and pre-arranged plan of action, looking 
far beyond the inimediatc results it was hoped to achieve, and aiming 
deliberately, if successful, towards the occupation of some important 
field of operations, or to the possession, as of Chattanooga, of an espe- 
cially significant point or post — a veritable "■ coign of vantage." 

In general outlines the movements which began in ]May, 1S62, 
with the battle of Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, and closed with that 
of Mission Ridge, in the fall of 1S63, must be considered as among 
the boldest of our earlier operations. They cleared Kentucky, held 
Tennessee from Memphis to the Appalachian Range ; opened the Mis- 
sissippi River to New Orleans ; kept Missouri in tlie Union lines ; pre- 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



1 1 1 



served Nash- 
ville; kept 
open the 
Cumberland 
and Tennes- 
see rivers, and 
finally made 
wide that 
gate to Geor- 
gia through 
which Sher- 
man went 
" marching to 
the Sea," and 
thence swung 
northward bv' 
the left flaniv 
through the 
Carolinas. 

It was in 
this broad 
field, with its 
extensive op- 
erations, its weighty responsibilities, and its splendid action, that our 
young soldier, General Sheridan, was so thoroughly learning that great 
"art of war," which he afterward practiced under General Grant with 
such tremendous vigor and magnificent results in the closing months of 
the civil conflict. Sheridan could hardly have had a better training- 
school, a more fitting field of preparatory operations. And his record 
therein shows how equal he was to every duty. 

General Grant is on record at this date in Sheridan's career, as affirm- 
ing him to be one of the two best division commanders that he kaiew of. 
General Crocker being the other officer honored with such commen- 
dation. As an illustration of the experiences through which Sheridan 
was passing, a brief summary of what General Rosecrans himself* de- 
clares to have been the chief features of the strategetical and fighting 
campaign of the Army of the Cumberland, between October 30, 1S62, 
and the 22d of September, 1S63, may not be out of place. 

General Rosecrans dates the commencement of his army's active 




GEN. WESLEY MERRITT. 



ONE OF SHERIOAN-S FAMOUS GENERALS. 



*" Campaign for Chattanooga," Century, May, 1SS7, W. S. Rosecrans. 



112 THE LIFE OF 

service from December 26, 1S62, when, he says, it began from Nash- 
ville •' its movement for Chattanooga, distant 151 miles." The battle- 
field of ^lurfreesboro', thirty-two miles from Nashville, was fought over 
and won, four days later. Twenty per cent, of the Union forces were 
killed or wounded. The Confederates retired to Duck River, thirty- 
two miles south, and established ''' a formidable intrenched camp." 
Another was also established at Tullahoma, " where the McMinnville 
branch intersects the main Nashville and Chattanooga railroad." It 
was expected that our forward movement would begin Alay i, 1S63. 
General Burnside, commanding Department of the Ohio, arranged a 
plan of cooperation with Rosecrans for the relief of East Tennessee, 
then occupied by the Confederate forces under Buckner. Rosecrans' 
plan was as follows : 

I St. Follow the lines of the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad. 

3d. Manoeuvre Bragg out of his intrenched camps bv flank move- 
ments to the east of him, tight and drive him until he crossed the Ten- 
nessee. 

3d. Deceive him as to the point at which we should cross. 

4th. Manoeuvre him out of Chattanooga. Then fight him, choos- 
ing, if possible, our own battle-field. 

5th. Burnside's part was to guard the left flank, and enter East 
Tennessee. Bragg's attention Avould thus be drawn north\vard. 

6th. These operations must be so timed in the driving of Bragg out 
of Middle Tennessee as not to force him southward and thus to the re- 
inforcement of General Joseph E. Johnston, who might thereby be able 
to seriouslv imperil the Union army in its operations about Vicksburg. 

It was this necessitv that delayed Rosecrans' movements till June 
24, 1863. There were seventeen days of severe rain, yet on the 
4th of July, we had occupied both the Duck River and Tullahoma 
camps. On the 7th, Bragg was in full retreat over the Cumberland 
Mountains. Rosecrans' headquarters were at Winchester, fifty miles 
east from Murfreesboro'. Middle Tennessee was in our full possession, 
with the Nasiiville and Chattanooga railroad also. This had been 
achieved within fifteen davs, with a loss on our part of but 5S6 killed 
and wounded. Chattanooga is sixty-nine miles from Winchester, lying 
on the south side of the Tennessee, which is thereabouts from twelve 
hundred to twenty-seven hundred feet wide. The Cumberland ^loiuit- 
ains, directly in front, were to be crossed before the river could be 
reached. On the north side, beyond the range, lay Sequatchie Valley. 
East of it the Waldron Ridge is cut from the Cumberland Range by 
the stream that gives a name to the long, narrow vallev. The Tennes- 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 113 

see above Chattanooga flows at the base of this ridge. South of it are 
the Sand Mountain CHfls, then Trenton Valley ascends to the plateau, 
while to the east are the long, precipitous cliffs of Lookout, a thou- 
sand feet above, stretching northward to the gap at Chattanooga with- 
out a single road for twenty-six miles. Indeed, there is not such a road 
for sixty-six miles, as the first ascends at Valley Head, forty miles 
southward from the Gate City. 

Rosecrans' problem at Winchester and beyond was — (a) to de- 
ceive Bragg as to our crossing place ; {b) to repair the railroad with- 
out attracting his attention ; (c) to subsist troops and accumulate 
twenty days' rations at Stephenson; {d) to contract and forward with- 
out attention large pontoon and trestle bridges ; {e) to a delay suffi- 
cient to secure the benefits of the early corn feed ; (/") in crossing the 
river, to do it so as to endanger Bragg's communications and compel him 
thereby to fall back so far that we could select our own field of fight 
in front of Chattanooga. He was expected to fight in force before the 
campaign closed. Rosecrans succeeded, as has been already shown, 
up to the possession of Chattanooga. He claims it was done unassisted ; 
the Army of the Potomac even being kept so idle as to allow Lee to 
send Longstreet to the assistance of Bragg. The Army of the Tennes- 
see (Grant's) did not assist, though unoccupied, according to Rose- 
crans, since the capture of Vicksburg. Burnside's command was kept 
so far north as not to be of use, while in the Gulf Department there 
was no attempt made by diversions to prevent the sending of reinforce- 
ments to Bragg, who was in these days aided to the utmost. 

The story of the TuUahoma campaign has already been briefly told. 
After Winchester seven days were occupied in crossing the Cumber- 
lands. The movement was so managed as to appear to be directed 
toward Knoxville, wdiile its real purpose was the seizure of Bridgeport 
and Stephenson. This was achieved by making long bivouacs in east- 
erly directions, but sufficiently in hand as to enable rapid concentration. 
The Confederate observers were easily deceived. Our mounted men 
descended into the Tennessee Valley and boldly drove everything across 
the river, concealing the infantry movements in thiswise, heav\' masses 
of which, screened by the timber, were prepared to descend and seize 
the available river crossings. The pontoon bridge came from Nash- 
ville on the 24th of August. A trestle bridge over twenty-seven hun- 
dred feet in length was also contracted for, and five light-draught, flat- 
bottomed, stern-wheel steamers were contracted for to run between 
Bridgeport and Chattanooga. It must be borne in mind that the com- 



114 THE LIFE OF 

mander at Bridgeport, selected by Rosecrans, was Philip H. Sheridan, 
who thus learned by actual service some of the most valuable duties of 
a general officer, other than those of actual fighting and manocuvering 
in the face of an enemy. 

It was McCook's corps, the Twentieth, which led the southward 
advance on the completion of the first bridge. Sheridan was there. 
This advance placed a heavy force forty miles south of Bragg. It 
naturally made him uneasy, and finally compelled him, through fear of 
our permanently holding positions between him and Atlanta, to evacuate 
Chattanooga, which he did on the 8th of September, 1S63. On the 
9th the Twenty-first Corps entered, and our cavalry also crossed the 
river. McCook and Thomas were both manoeuvered so as to threaten the 
enemy, who lay behind Missionary Ridge, with headquarters at Ross- 
ville. 

Thomas, with the Fourteenth Army Corps, crossed over Lookout, 
up Johnson's and down Cooper's passes, putting himself in a good 
position at the mountain's foot. Crittenden was in Chattanooga, and 
when Bragg was located behind Missionary Ridge, his infantry was 
moved out. On the 1 2th Bragg was found concentrating near Lafayette, 
behind Pigeon Mountain. His rear was discovered on the 13th near 
the Chickamauga, and Crittenden was at once placed in supporting 
distance of Thomas. McCook, with whom Sheridan was serving, had 
been operating southward, on the possibility of Bragg's retreat to At- 
lanta. The Twentieth Corps was at once ordered to Thomas' support. 
Bragg began manosuvering to get between Chattanooga and Missionary 
Ridge, concentrating on tiie field of Chickamauga. On the iSth Mc- 
Cook was within touch and came down the mountain. Thomas, with 
three divisions, moved northeast through the forest till his command, 
the centre, was placed across the Reed's Bridge road, and others leading 
from Rossville to Chattanooga. Crittenden was again on the left and 
McCook on the right. Bragg once more hammered us from his right 
on our left. Crittenden was the cover for Chattanooga. The supreme 
importance of this fight was owing to the overwhelming topographical 
significance of the position we had just seized. 

On the 1 8th of September the two armies were facing each other 
on the opposite sides of the Chickamauga, a stream which, rising at the 
junction of Missionary Ridge and Pigeon Mountain, at the southern 
extremity of AicLemore's Cove, flows by Crawfish Spring, and at Lee 
and Gordon's Mill reaches the Lafayette and Chattanooga road. It 
is an Indian name and bears an ominous meaning, — " the river of 
death." Bragg was on the east, and Rosecrans on the west side of this 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 115 

stream. During the night of the iSth Bragg concentrated over thirty 
thousand men, Polk being on his right, and Hood on his left. He had 
sent Wheeler's cavalry to press Rosecrans' right, and so draw attention 
from his real movement, which was aimed at our left. Longstreet's 
troops were arriving on the iSth, and wet'e being placed in posi- 
tion. Longstreet himself arrived at midnight. Fighting began early 
on the 19th, Thomas opening. By a continuous night march up the Dry 
Valley road, with his heavy corps, followed by a part of McCook's 
corps, he had reached an assigned position on a southerly spur of 
Missionary Ridge, near Kelley's Farm, on the Lafayette and Rossville 
road, facing Reed and Alexander's burned bridges, and there, a mile 
or two to the left of Crittenden's corps, early on the morning of the 
19th, he pi'oceeded to strike, without waiting to be struck. He was 
informed by Colonel Dan McCook, who with his reserve brigade had 
been holding that front during the night, that a Confederate brigade 
was on the west side of the Chickamauga, apparently alone, and as he 
(McCook) had destroyed Reed's bridge behind them, he thought they 
, might easily be captured. The attack was made at once and repulsed. 
The Confederate brigade was supported, and the fighting was in force. 
Cleburne came up to attack Thomas' right, but was driven back. The 
attack on our left was abandoned and the centre assailed. It was 
pressed back, but being reinforced, held its ground. Johnson from the 
Twentieth Corps reinforced Thomas. Negley went to Van Cleve's 
aid. Sheridan had earlier been sent to help Davis. Night came and 
the battle proved indecisive. After Longstreet's arrival, Bragg dividftd 
his army into two wings, gave the right to Polk and the left to Long- 
street. The order of battle, from i^ight to left, in the first line, was 
Breckenridge, Cleburne, Cheatham, then Stewart, Hood, Hindman, 
and Preston ; in the second line, and in reserve, was Walker, Johnson, 
and McLaws, from right to left as named. Pegram's cavalry was 
placed on the extreme left. It could do but little in such a broken and 
wooded valley. On the 20th McCook still held our right, his right 
wing being refused ; Crittenden had his two divisions in reserve, and 
in the rear of the centre; Thomas remained on the left, reinforced by 
two divisions of Johnson and Palmer ; Brannan and Negley were in 
reserve. The mass of our cavalry was on the extreme right. Granger 
formed the principal reserve toward Rossville. The preceding night 
had been spent in preparation. Thomas' troops made a breast- work in 
their front. At daybreak an impenetrable mist covered the field. 
Rosecrans intended to take the offensive, and concentrated his forces 
more to the left, which Bragg was still determined to flank, and thus 



ii6 THE LIFE OF 

get between it and Chattanooga. Polk began the battle as soon as it 
was light enough to see. The whole line was then pushed persistently 
against our lines. 

At lo o'clock Breckenridge's division, followed by Cleburne's, 
advanced against Thomas. These attacks were made with so much 
energy that Thomas had to send repeatedly to Rosecrans for help. He 
at last succeeded in driving the enemv back with great loss, and ad- 
vanced against Breckenridge's right. At midday the Confederate right, 
except two brigades, was all engaged. The two armies were thus in 
full conflict upon a narrow neck of land. Genei"al Bragg waited 
vainly for the demonstration which he thought his right wing was 
about to make, and thus lost the best hours of the morning. The 
Union army appeared in force near the Chickamauga, about three miles 
below Gordon's Mill. Bragg then thought it best to weaken his cen- 
tre and strengthen his right. Walker and Cheatham were sent to aid 
Forrest. Rosecrans ordered Crittenden to defend Gordon's Mills at any 
cost. It was a pivot for his entire army. Crittenden's line was a mile 
in length. The Twentieth Corps (McCook's) ,Negley's division of the 
Fourteenth Corps, and Mitchell's cavalry, were at Crawfish Spring. 
McCook held the right wing, and Rosecrans sent, at lo A. m., John- 
son's division to the aid of Thomas. He was watching the enemy 
above Owen's Ford, on tlae Cattell's Gap road. The fierceness of the 
battle on the left soon enlightened Rosecrans. McCook was directed 
to dispatch Davis' division after Johnson. Crittenden had anticipated 
all orders and was in position. The Confederate Virginia reinforce- 
ments were, however, first in the field. The Confederate General 
Govern had, under cover of the mist, moved from Thomas' left, to a 
point of attack on Baird's position. Shortly after noon Baird encoun- 
tered, the heavy line which took him on the flank and rear. He tried 
to change his line of battle. King and Brannan were close together. 
Scribner's brigade was most exposed. Baird endeavored to form a line 
of battle on the right. Before Starkweather had time to arrange his 
line the Confederates came up on a run, fell on him, captured his bat- 
tery, routed his troops, and afl;er a short struggle drove them back in 
disoi"der. King found himself a little on the left, while changing front. 
He was also surprised by \\'althall. The remnants of this brigade were 
driven upon Stai'kweathcr, who had no time to place himself on the 
defensive. Liddel now concentrated himself upon our lines. Stark- 
weather's men held their ground and began a terrible resistance, which 
soon became mere slaughter. Walker, with two other brigades, gave 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 117 

the order for a new attack on Brannan. The latter, no longer sup- 
ported by King, saw his line broken in the centre, and his brigades 
were separated : one brigade was cut in two. Starkweather weakened, 
and the Union situation became v^ery grave. 

General Palmer then united with Grose. Rosecrans formed these 
divisions in a quarter wheel, with Hazen and Cruft. Hazen was the 
first to again meet the rebels. A little before 9 o'clock he fell on 
Govern's flank and extricated Starkweather's brigade from them. 
Brannan now hurled the forces he had collected in obedience to Thomas' 
order, with Vandever, on the flank of Walthall's brigade. The Con- 
federate lines thus taken on both sides, were at once badly shaken ; the 
assailants recaptured most of the enemy's trophies, five pieces of the 
regular battery, and all of Loomis' guns, a battery renowned in the 
Union army on account of its brilliant record. Liddel quickly aban- 
doned this portion of the field. Brannan came to a halt. Hazen fol- 
lowed Govern closely, while Palmer brought forward to the right his 
two reserve brigades. 

At 5 p. M. the Confederates renewed the battle, Liddel and Gist 
charging on Reynold's right. While Thomas was trying to concen- 
trate, they attacked Johnson, Baird, and Van Cleve, producing con- 
fusion, and threatening the destruction of that part of our line. For- 
tunately, General Hazen had been sent back to the Rossville road to take 
charge of some artillery. These guns he quickly put in position on a 
ridge, with such infantry supports as he could collect, and brought them 
to bear on the rebels at a short range. This caused them to recoil in 
disorder, and the day was saved on our left. At sunset General Cle- 
burne again charged on Johnson's front with a division of Hill's corps, 
but secured no positive advantage. 

There had been some lively work on the right (McCook's) during 
the day by the artillery, and in an attack by three of Bragg's brigades 
in succession, one of our batteries was for a time in possession of the 
foe. But the guns were soon recovered. At 3 p. M. Hood threw 
two of his divisions on Davis' division, pushing it back and capturing the 
Eighth Indiana Battery. Davis fought bravely until near sunset, when 
Sheridan came vigorously to his aid. A successful counter-charge was 
then made, the battery retaken, and a number of prisoners also : Sheri- 
dan's luck, as usual. When night fell on the 20th, the battle ceased. 
We had lost no ground, had repulsed the enemy at all points, and cap- 
tured three guns. But our army was clearly outnumbered. On the 
morning of the 20th, Longstreet's troops having all arrived, the Confed- 



ii8 THE LIFE OF 

erates had 70,000 men,* while the Union army was but 55,000 strong. 

Of Sheridan's services on the 30th, Rosecrans wrote (see Century 
article) , after the forenoon fighting, at the time that Brannan was being 
driven in, that " Sheridan's three brigades were ordered to the break, 
but had only force enough to break a line or two and were obliged to 
withdraw. 

" Watching the unavailing efforts of Sheridan to stem the tide, I ob- 
served the long line of Longstreet's wing coming from the southeast 
in line of battle, out-reaching our right (McCook) by at least half a mile. 
I ordered Davis and Sheridan to fall back northward," to a line indi- 
cated as a " first good point for defense." He then proceeded to the 
rear of our centre, directing all troops met to "join Sheridan on the 
Dry Valley road." At this point Sheridan and Davis were ordered at 
all hazards to resist the advance of Longstreet, as our commissary trains 
were but three miles or so in the rear, and time was essential to secure 
their safe retreat to Chattanooga. And this was done. According to 
Rosecrans' plans, the holding of Chattanooga was the supreme need. 
Our fighting had shaken, delayed, and finally checked the rebel move- 
ments and army. Garfield was sent to Sheridan and Davis to tell them 
what was wished, and thence to Thomas, the "rock of Chickamauga 
itself." This was the situation in the afternoon of the 30th : Thomas 
held the field ; Sheridan and Davis checked the rebel's flanking move- 
ment, JNIitchell with our cavalry doing an important part of this work. 
Rosecrans returned to Chattanooga to prepare for the new dispositions 
of his troops so necessary. It was the hard fighting of Sheridan and 
Davis alone, just before and at the Dry Valley road movement, that 
prevented the Longstreet attack on om- right wing (Twentieth Corps) 
from becoming an utter rout. The Comte de Paris in his fourth vol- 
ume criticises Sheridan's action here somewhat adversely, and Rose- 
crans' very sharply. 

Thomas, meanwhile, ignorant of the disaster which had befollen 
the right wing, was holding his own position most gallantly. He had 
sent Captain Kellogg at noon to hasten the march ot Sheridan, whose 

* A foot-note to the Century article, already referred to, says that at Chickamaug-a Bragg: had 
1S4 regiments and 39 battalions of infantry, 34 regiments of cavalry, and 47 batteries of artillery. 
Our roster showed 133 infantry regiments, iS of cavalry, and 35 1-3 batteries of artillery. The Con. 
federates were on the 3oth, says Rosecrans, holding a front line of 6,SSo yards, and a second one of 
3,310 yards long. Our own lines were 3,400 yards on the front and \ ,750 on the second line. That is 
to say, the front Confederate lines were nearly four miles in length, and our front was but a little 
over two miles in length. This is an important factor in estimating the cliaracter and results of the 
battle of Chickamauga, which had to be fought, for otherwise the Union army would have been 
almost hopelessly environed within the lines of Chattanooga. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



119 



support had been 
promised, but he re- 
turned with tidings 
that a large Confed- 
erate force was ap- 
proaching. Thomas 
sent General Har- 
ker, whose brigade 
was on a ridge, in 
the direction of this 
reported advance, to 
resist them. This 
was gallantly done. 
In the meantime 
GeneralT. J. Wood 
came up, and was 
directed to put his 
troops on the left of 
Brannan, then in the 
rear of Thomas' line 
of battle, on a slope 
of the Missionary 
Ridge, a little west 
of the Rossville 
road, where, b y 
Thomas' order, had 
been massed all the 








GEN. JOSEPH B. WHEELER, 



A DISTINGUISHED CONFEDERATE CAVALRYMAN, AND NOW A MEMBER OF THE 
NATIONAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALABAMA. 



artillery that could 
be found, with as 
much infantry to its support as was possible. At this position Thomas 
now took his command. Wood had barely time to dispose of his 
troops on the left of Brannan, when they were furiously attacked ; the 
Confederates keeping up the attack by throwing in fresh troops as fast 
as the others were repulsed. Meanwhile, General Granger had moved 
to Thomas' support without orders, and appeared on his left flank at 
the head of Steadman's division. He was directed to push on and take 
position on Brannan's right. Steadman gallantly fought his way to 
the crest of the hill, and then turning his artillery on the rebel line, 
drove them down the slope with great slaughter. They soon returned 
to the attack, however, in overwhelming force, pressing Thomas in 



120 THE LIFE OF 

front and on both flanks. Granger formed the cavahy brigades of 
Mitchell and Whittaker and charged upon the flank of the Confederates 
as they were moving in line along a ridge. Genei'al Hindman was 
in command at the gorge and met this attack. Our infantry was led 
by Steadman, who seized a regimental flag and headed the charge. 
Within twenty minutes the Confederates were not only repulsed, but 
had disappeared. Our troops held the ridge, but at a fearful sacrifice 
of life. This daring action brought on a lull for half an hour, which 
was but a deep calm before the roaring tempest. The Confederates 
were swarming around and behind the ridge, on which stood Thomas 
with the remnants of seven divisions of the Army of the Cumberland. 

Longstreet in person commanded his veterans, Hood having lost a 
leg in the morning. There seemed no hope for our shattered army. 
Thomas, however, stood like a rock, and assault after assault was 
repulsed till sundown, when by order of General Rosecrans, he com- 
menced the withdrawal of his troops to Rossville. His ammunition 
was nearly exhausted. His men had not more than three rounds 
apiece when Steadman arrived. Garfield bore an order from Rose- 
crans for Thomas to take command of all the forces, and wuthMcCook 
and Crittenden to secure a strong position at Rossville and assume a 
threatening attitude. On the way Turchins' brigade charged upon a 
heavy body of Confederates who were seeking to obstruct the move- 
ment. They were driven with a great loss, and there was no pursuit. 
Thomas qijietly took possession of the Rossville and the Dry Valley 
gaps of Missionary Ridge. That night the whole army withdrew in 
perfect order to the position assigned it by Rosecrans, in front of 
Chattanooga. The following day Bragg took possession of Lookout 
Mountain, and so ended the battle of Chickamauga. Rosecrans says in 
the article already quoted, that Thomas used the discretion indicated 
by Garfield, "and retired to Rossville, where our troops halted, and, 
in spite of their condition, wearied with three days and a night of 
marching and fighting, were by 1 1 o'clock in fair defensive posi- 
tion. . . . On the next morning, Monday, the 21st, our lines 
at Rossville were rectified, and advantageous positions were taken to 
receive the enemy if he desired to attack us." 

This he did not feel like doing after a sharp reconnaissance. Chat- 
tanooga, at least, was held, and a very superior force was successfully 
checked, if not defeated. The campaign was certainly a memorable 
one. It occupied ninety-two days. A great army had moved success- 
fully for 139 miles through an hostile country. Three mountain 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 121 

ranges and a broad river had been passed. Two strongly intrenched 
camps were made useless. Many small battles were fought. A great 
amount of severe military service was performed. The objective point 
of the campaign remained in our hands, after a great battle wherein we 
had been largely outnumbered. This was the school and the work 
wherein Sheridan was trained. 

Severe criticism has been accorded General Rosecrans for his part 
in this serious battle. It certainly cost him the confidence of the coun- 
try, and has embittered, justly or otherwise, his whole life since that 
date. In his latest volume (the fourth), the Comte de Paris sharply 
arraigns Sheridan, even, for some laxness in the afternoon fighting, and 
in executing the order to hold the Dry Valley road. As the French 
author, however, stands alone in this, the friends of General Sheridan 
can well afibrd to leave his memory undefended in all respects. The 
Comte de Paris' is that of the closet, and is naturally based more upon 
suppositions as to what a commander should do in a given emergency, 
than upon an actual realization of all the factors of the case — the inci- 
dents and conditions upon which alone even a soldier like Sheridan 
could act and achieve. 

The hero of Chickamauga, as every one concedes, was the noble 
old Virginian soldier, George H. Thomas. If living to-day he would 
be Sheridan's successor. The " Rock of Chickamauga " was one of 
the best beloved of American soldiers. The esteem, nay love, in which 
his memory is held by all soldiers and officers who fought with and 
under him, forms a tribute to his name and fame of the most enduring 
renown. Sheridan, like all who knew the calm, upright, powerful 
integrity of his character and will, held the memory of Major-Genei"al 
George H. Thomas in the highest regard. 

The battle of Chickamauga was a decided turning point in the war, 
drawing as it did the nation's attention to the grave importance of the 
Chattanooga situation, and thereby compelling its speedy succor. Such 
action meant at any cost ; such success meant, as events soon' established, 
the rending asunder of the slave-holders' confederacy. 



Chapter X. 



AT CHATTANOOGA. 



A DESPERATE SITUATION — HELPING A STARVING ARMY — TAKING PART IN THE 
BATTLE OF MISSIONARY RIDGE — LEADING A DESPERATE CHARGE UP THE 

HEIGHTS A SINGULAR STORY OF WAR WITH GRANT ON ORCHARD KNOB 

— LOOKING AT HOOKER's FIGHT — A GREAT DAY's WORK — COMMENDED FOR 
GALLANTRY AND ABILITY. 

After the battle of Chickamauga the situation within the "Gate 
City" of Georgia soon became a fearful one. Bragg's army held the 
two great mountain lines : Lookout to the east, enfilading, as it were, 
our positions ; Missionary Ridge, commanding our entire west front and 
the great bend of the Tennessee River with its marvelous defensible 
positions. The Chattanooga Valley, between Missionary Ridge and 
Lookout Mountain, formed the great battle amphitheatre in which the 
mighty combat for the control of the region was to be fought. It is as 
notable a field for tremendous military tactics and struggles as that other 
famous one of the Civil War, the historic valley of Gettysburg. The 
latter is eminently simple, though large in topography. It is also lovely 
and sylvan in its picturesque aspects. At Chattanooga the shock of 
armies was heightened and enhanced in imaginative effect by the mas- 
sive details of the topography and the bold, rugged, and frowning 
aspects of the grand yet rude details of a superb and mighty landscape, 
which holds in its vast ensemble the culminating conjunction of the great 
Appalachian Range that combines the Cumberland and Blue Ranges 
with the mighty, haze-draped plateau of Northern Georgia. Through this 
great mountain formation the Tennessee has forced its way by deep 
gorges, rapids, great bends, serpentine channels, and over the Mussle 
Shoals, adding marvelously to the romantic beauty and wonderful pic- 
turesqueness of the whole region. It was a field fit for the combat of 
Titans — for the settlement of a continental destiny. A story is told of 
a Confederate soldier which illustrates this. He declared after the 



124 THE LIFE OF 

battle that Grant's orders were not those of an ordinary commander. 
Against Bragg, he affirmed that the Yankees came — 

" By States, attention !" 

" By Nation, right wheel ! " 

" By Continent, forward march ! " 

The Confederates, who were at this time well handled by Bragg, 
succeeded in cutting oft' our railroad supply line at Bridgeport, on the 
Tennessee, twenty-six miles to the west of Chattanooga. As a conse- 
quence the situation of the Army of the Cumberltind rapidly assumed, 
after Chickamauga, the aspect of a closely beleaguered post, camp, and 
force. The animals died from want of forage ; the troops were placed 
on half rations, and those of the poorest quality. The only road open 
to the army was a round-about line on the river, north of, and over the 
Waldron Range, tlirough the Sequatchie Valley, some sixty miles in 
length. It was liable to be overwhelmed by a raid of the successful 
enemy at any time. Eastward, Burnside at Knoxville was in great 
danger. The worst feature of all was Rosecrans' own discouragement. 

In this plight, the Washington authorities turned to Grant as a suit- 
able commander to reorganize victory. Previously, however, Sherman 
had been ordered by Halleck from Vicksburg to the relief of Chatta- 
nooga. He was to start from Memphis, following the railroad to Cor- 
inth, with all the troops that could be obtained from Hurlbut. Those 
from Vicksburg were to be under McPherson. These orders were 
received on the 23d of September. After Vicksburg, Grant had urged 
a movement against Mobile. This was to be done in order to relieve 
Rosecrans, by compelling the withdrawal southward of Bragg's troops. 
The Ninth Corps was ordered to Tennessee. On the 39th Halleck 
ordered all forces possible to Rosecrans' relief. At that time, Grant 
says in his Memoirs : " The National troops were now strongly in- 
trenched in Chattanooga Valley, with the Tennessee River behind 
them, and the enemy occupying commanding heights to the east and 
west, with a strong line across the valley, from mountain to mountain, 
and Chattanooga Creek for a large part of the way in front of their 
line." 

Both Sherman and McPherson were then moving slowly eastward ; 
Sherman being hindered by orders to repair the railroad line. Gen- 
eral Hooker's corps from the Army of the Potomac was also started to 
Chattanooga. On the 3d of October, Grant was ordered to Cairo to 
receive oixlers from Washington. Arriving there, he was directed to 
proceed to Louisville. He then met Secretary Stanton at Indian- 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 12^ 

apolis, and they went to Louisville together. There Grant was offered 
and accepted the command of the Division of the Mississippi, embracing 
all territory between the river and the Alleghanies north of the region 
under Banks in the Department of the Gulf. In this division were 
the armies of the Ohio, holding Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, 
that of the Tennessee, and of the Gumberland, with Burnside's army in 
East Tennessee, Hancock's fighters from the Potomac, and Pope's 
troops in the Northwest Department. It included as corps command- 
ers such men, among others, as Thomas, Sherman, Hooker, Burnside, 
Granger, Blair, and Stanley ; such department chiefs as Hurlbut, Pope, 
Wright, Boyle, and others ; and a host also of great division com- 
manders, among whom were growing soldiers and fighters, like our 
hero, Sheridan, T. J. Wood, Howard, Geary, Palmer, Wilcox, W. F. 
Smith, Steadmaii, Baird, Jeft'. C. Davis, Hazen, Willich, Mitchell, 
Brannan, Minty, Wilder, Logan, McPherson, Innis, Johnson, Negley, 
and many others. Grant and Stanton were in Louisville on October 
17th. That night. Assistant Secretary of War Charles A. Dana, who 
was at Chattanooga, telegraphed of Rosecrans' desire to evacuate or 
surrender. Either involved the worst disasters. Thomas by tele- 
graph was at once placed in chief command at Chattanooga. He was 
directed by Grant to hold the place at all hazards. Hooker was then 
in supporting distance, O. O. Howard being at Jasper, and Geary 
nearby. Thomas declared he would '^ stick." Grant reached Chat- 
tanooga, October 22d. He was on crutches at the time, and was car- 
ried by men part of the way over the Waldron Ridge. Rosecrans was 
met at Bridgeport, and gave Grant some ''good suggestions," which 
the latter naively wonders he " had not himself adopted." 

Sheridan and others of " Rosey's " division commanders awaited 
without enthusiasm Grant's arrival. Finding a second pontoon bridge 
in process of construction, the boats being hidden from Bragg's outlooks 
up the North Chickamauga, the new commander determined to load 
them w'ith picked men, move Hooker from Bridgeport up the Tennessee 
on the south side, developing also a force on the north side under Gen- 
eral Palmer, and thus run the river by night, seizing the enemy's pickets, 
make a new crossing, and open the railroad from Bridgeport to Kelley's 
Ford, eight miles from Chattanooga with a good wagon road thereto. 
It was successfully done, and once more the " cracker line," as the boys 
called it, was established. The inspiring effect was immediate. Men 
were fed and reclothed. JNIedicines, vegetables, etc., were received and 
new means of field transportation obtained. Much credit for all this 



iz6 THE LIFE OF 

is due to General W. F. Smith, who as engineer-in-chief, began, be- 
fore Grant's arrival, measures of the kind that commander accepted 
and enlarged. It was all done by the 2Sth, and the river was again 
opened to Lookout. Our extreme right was thus connected in Lookout 
Valley with Chattanooga and the army there. During Hooker's move- 
ments in support, Howard had a sharp and successful fight near Brown's 
Ferry. On the 29th of October, Geary's division was savagely attacked 
at Wauhatchie, north of the Tennessee, by Longstreet in force. Hooker 
marched rapidly to Geary's support, who held his own for three hours 
against a larger force. The fighting continued till long after dark. It 
ended rather ludicrously, though, in a Union victory. Hooker's team- 
sters got panic stricken and the mules stampeded, rushing towards the 
rebel lines, which, supposing the rush to be a cavalry charge, retired in 
haste and without order. A camp parody embalms the " Battle of the 
Mules," and it is given here : 

" Forward, the mule brigade ; 
Was there a mule dismayed ? 
Not when the long ears felt 

All their ropes sundered. 
Theirs not to make reply — 
Theirs not to reason why — 
Theirs but to make them fly — 
On to the Georgia troops 

Broke the two hundred. 

" Mules to the right of them — 
Mules to the left of them — 
Mules all behind them — 

Pawed, neighed, and thundered; 
Breaking their own confines — 
Breaking through Longstreet's lines, 
Testing chivalric spines; 
Into the Georgia troops 

Stormed the two hundred." 

The Union loss in these movements was 4S9 killed and wounded. 
Of the Confederates, 150 were left dead on the field, and 100 remained 
prisoners. Their wounded wei^e removed. 

Already the siege had been lifted in large degree. There was 
great peril, however. Sherman was hastening eastward with the 
Army of the Tennessee. Burnside's position grew worse. He was 
over one hundred miles from a railroad or his base of supplies, with 
insufiicient forces and stores, but holding Knoxville and the Union 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 127 

settlements with a cheery courage. Grant was earnestly pressed to 
relieve him, and the only way to do so was to fight a great battle at 
Chattanooga. Bragg made a vigorous eflbrt to recover the line broken 
by Grant's first movements. Longstreet and Wheeler, with 20,000 men, 
had been sent against Burnside, halting, however, at Loudon, East 
Tennessee, where their railroad terminated. This enabled them to 
threaten Knoxville or reinforce Bragg. 

On our side, Sherman and McPherson were mai'ching steadily and 
rapidly to Stephenson. Sherman under Grant's orders had abandoned 
the railroad work that Halleck imposed. But in order to get more I'ail- 
road transportation, Granville M. Dodge was left at Athens, Tennessee, 
with S,ooo men, to repair and hold the Nashville and Decatur line, with 
its 102 miles of broken road and its 182 bridges. This in a regfion 
swarming with guen-illas. Seeing the impossibility of otherwise reliev- 
ing Burnside, Grant on the 7th of November ordered Thomas to make 
an attack in force. As he was without animals to move artillery, this 
Thomas declined to do. On the 14th, however, Sherman's advance 
was at Bridgeport. Burnside was telegraphed to that eftect, and assured 
that the fight was imminent which would relieve him. The weather 
was rainy. It was decided to fight on the 34th. This was begun a 
day earlier, however, to encourage our troops at Knoxville. Long- 
street's absence at Loudon weakened Bragg very seriously. 

Chattanooga's lines of defense were very strong, and extended for a 
mile along Cetico Creek, near the base of Missionary Ridge. This 
stream empties two miles below. All elevations were carefully forti- 
fied. The fort closest to the ridge was named after General Wood, and 
with its twenty-two guns could reach the nearest points on the enemy's 
lines. Cetico Creek is south of Chattanooga. Bragg's main army was 
aligned for six miles along the crest of Missionary Ridge to the west. 
From the centre of the slope to Chattanooga River they held a strong 
line of works. In other words, Thomas held the interior lines, making 
a sickle-shaped position, with Chattanooga and the Tennessee River as 
the handle. The rebel position might be counted as a scythe blade with- 
out handle, while from the centre lay an irregular swath of troops. 
This was met and faced with a series of independent redoubts which 
Grant's new lines had erected. The north end of Lookout Valley was 
in our possession. Hooker had moved across it, and his lines faced 
alike the northwest slope of Lookout and were headed toward the 
northeast slope of the Missionary Ridge. Sherman was moving into the 
great field from the direction of Chickamaviga to the south and east. 



128 THE LIFE OF 

From Chattanooga as a base, then, the Army of the Cumberland under 
Thomas was in the centre. Hooker held the right and Sherman the 
left of our position on the high and rugged intervale or plain of Chatta- 
nooga on the 23d of November, 1S63. The centre w^as strengthened 
greatly by its strong, defensive works. Back of us was the Tennessee ; 
to the front of us the frowning heights of Missionary Ridge ; to the 
east and north the precipitous clitVs of Lookout. 

General Granger, under Grant's new disposition, was in command 
of the corps composed of Sheridan's and Wood's divisions. On the 
33d, this corps was in the early morning placed to the foot of Fort 
Wood, " Sheridan on the right and Wood on the left, extending to or 
near Cetico Creek." * Palmer, in command of Thomas' old corps, the 
Fourteenth, was in position to the south ahd southwest, supporting 
Sheridan with Baird's division, the other, Johnson's, being kept in the 
trenches ready for any movement. A signal gun from the fort gave 
the order to advance. This was done in fine style, driving in all pick- 
ets, and securing a new line one mile in advance to the west. It was 
not done without loss. That night our earthworks were turned to the 
enemy, men working all night to secure that end. Our loss was about 
eleven hundred killed and wounded. The artillery fire was maintained 
all night, on both sides, and the advantage strongly remained on our 
side. The night before, a rebel deserter informed Sheridan that Bragg's 
baggage was being reduced, and that he was preparing to fall back. 
Our movements of the next day were executed wholly by the Army of 
the Cumberland — a change in Grant's original plans. The capture of 
Orchard Knob, from which, later, Grant and others directed the opera- 
tions, was part of the successful work done on the 23d. Brigadier- 
General J. S. Fullerton, then chief of stafl' to General GVanger, says : f 
"At noon [23d] General Grant, Assistant Secretary of War Dana, 
General Thomas, Generals Hooker, Granger, Howard, and other dis- 
tinguished officers, stood on the parapet of Fort Wood, facing Orchard 
Knob, waiting to see this initial movement — the overture to the battle 
of Chattanooga. At half-past twelve Wood's division, supported by 
Sheridan, marched out on the plain in front of the fort. . . . Flags 
were flying ; the quick, earnest step of thousands beat equal time, 

. All looked like preparations for a pageant, rather than for the 
bloody work of death. Groups of officers on Missionary Ridge looked 
down through their glasses . . . unconcernedly viewing what they 

* Grant's Memoirs. 

+ " Army of the Cumberland." Century, May, 1S87. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 129 

supposed to be preparations for a grand review." The advance was 
sounded. " At once Wood's division, moving with tlie steadiness of a 
machine, started forward. . . . General Howard, who had just 
come from the East, remarked to an officer : ' Why, this is magnificent ! 
They could not go on dress-parade better.' " The Jinale is 
briefly told, and it embraces the capture of Orchard Knob : "A sharp, 
short struggle, and the hill was ours." This capture caused Bragg to 
transfer a division from Lookout to Missionary Ridge. That weakened 
Lookout, and made Grant consider the feasibility of an attack thereon. 
Sherman's army was still struggling into position. All but one 
division, that of Osterhaus, was ready to move. He was ordered to 
report to Hooker on the right, if he could not cross at Brown's Ferry 
on the early morning of the 24th. Thomas strengthened his position, 
but did not move forward, of course. Sherman's command moved over 
the Tennessee at the mouth of the South Chickamauga, by pontoon 
bridge and ferry. At noon all was ready, and Sherman was in position 
for his great assault on the south end of the ridge. By sundown he 
was in possession of a good line from the Chickamauga River west- 
ward, holding the foothills strongly. Hooker engaged with three divis- 
ions on the west. These represented the three Union armies, under 
Osterhaus of the Tennessee, Cruft of the Cumberland, and Geary of 
the Potomac. Howard was with Sherman. Three rebel brigades 
under General Carter L. Stevenson, held the east of Lookout Creek. 
Thus the two armies confronted each other. Hooker moved Geary 
and one of Cruft's brigades to the front early on the 24th. Then fol- 
lowed the balance of his command. Thus was begun the "battle 
above the clouds," of which so much has been written and sung, end- 
ing in the capture of Lookout. Grant says :* " Hooker's advance now 
made our line a continuous one. It was in full vi^w [from the top of 
Orchard Knob, where he and Thomas were observing] , extending from 
the Tennessee River where Sherman had crossed, up Chickamauga 
River to the base of Missionary Ridge, over the top of the north end of 
the ridge to Chattanooga Valley, then along parallel to the ridge a mile 
or more, across the valley to the mouth of Chattanooga Creek, thence 
up the slope of Lookout Mountain to the foot of the upper palisade. 
At 4 o'clock Hooker reported his position [there] as impreg- 
nable." General Fullerton says :t " As the sun went down [24th] the 
clouds rolled away, and the night came on clear and cold. A grand 



* Century article, Grant's Memoirs, November, 1885. 
^Century, May, 1887, " The Army of the Cumberland." 
9 



130 THE LIFE OF 

sight was Old Lookout that night. Not two miles apart were the par- 
allel fires of the two armies, extending from the summit of the mount- 
ain to its base, looking like great streams of burning lava ; while in 
between, the flashes from the muskets of the skirmishers glowetl like 
giant fireflies." In the morning it was found that the enemy had left 
Lookout. 

The 35th opened " big with expectancy." In retiring from Look- 
out the previous night, the enemy had burned all bridges and other- 
wise damaged the roads on which Hooker was to advance. This 
delayed him four hours. The main position became so critical that 
Grant gave the order for the advance of the Army of the Cumberland, 
which was to storm the ridge in the centre. Sheridan's and Wood's 
divisions were under arms. They had impatiently waited the order 
to " move " since early morning. Sheridan's order was : "As soon as 
the signal is given the whole line will advance and you will take what 
is before you." 

General H. V. Boynton, the well-known joiu'nalist and military 
critic, who commanded a regiment, and was severely wounded in the 
assault, says of this great movement, that " It was the third and last 
day of the battle. On the first, Thomas had sent Hooker to the suc- 
ccssfuljassault on Lookout. On the second, Sheridan had taken a 
brilliant part in a movement, which, in its precision, was mistaken by 
the enemy for a review, but which ended with the rush which cap- 
tured Orchard Knob. On the last, four divisions of the Army of the 
Cumberland lay from morning till near sundown facing the ridge, and 
impatiently watching the terrible pendulum-swings of the splendid but 
imsLiccessful assaults of Sherman's troops on its northern extremity, 
which were plainly seen from Orchard Knob, where Grant, Thomas, 
and] Granger stood -watching the contest hour after hour, with an 
intensity of interest and a growing impatience which were inseparable 
from the situation. The sun was nearing the western ranges. Hooker's 
guns had not been heard on the right, and Sherman was unable, with all 
his forces, to make further impression on the left. Baird was hurried 
to his aid. He then had seven divisions, or over half the Union army, 
but there being no room for Baird to operate, he returned to the centre, 
and had just formed again on the left of the Army of the Cumberland, 
when the grand spectacular movement began which closed the fight." 

At twenty minutes to four the signal gun was fired. Suddenly 
20,000 men rushed forward, moving in a line of battle by brigades, 
with a double line of skirmishers in front, and closely followed by the 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. i^i 

reserves en masse. The guns of Fort Wood and other Union works 
roared above the rattle of our light artillery and musketry. The enemy's 
rifle-pits were all ablaze. The Cumberland Army divisions deployed 
right and left in front of Indian Hill, and moved in face of a terrible 
fire from the rifle-pits at the base of the ridge. When they reached the 
Confederate skirmishers, they fled precipitately, closely pressed by the 
Fourth and P^ourteenth corps. Coming up on a run our men were 
greeted with a formidable fire, for all the Confederate outposts assigned 
to duty massed themselves in their lower rifle-pits. In a few minutes 
all was confusion among them. 

By a bold and desperate rush, the two divisions had broken through 
in several places, and opened \)o\\\ flank and reverse fires. The enemy 
was thrown into confusion and took flight up the ridge. Many prisoners 
were captured. The order of the commanding general did not go far 
enough to satisfy our brave men, who were burning to wipe out the 
defeat of Chickamauga. There was a halt of a few minutes to 
re-form, then with a sudden impulse and without orders, the soldiers 
started up the ridge.. Oflicers first followed, then led them. 

General Boynton's description of the ground gives a vivid idea of 
what was before our men. He says : " The orders for the movement 
contemplated a halt in the first line of works for slight rest, and a re- 
forming of lines for forward movement ; but impatient under the galling 
fire from above, elated by success, anxious and determined to play their 
full part in the day's pageant, the front line scarcely halted at the lower 
works, but springing over and out of them, began to climb the rough 
face of the ridge. It was 500 yards to the summit. The general eleva- 
tion was 500 feet, and from a point a short distance within the works 
at the base the slope became precipitous. It was broken by ravine, 
tangled with fallen timber, strewn with masses of rock, and covered 
at points with loose stones from the ledges on the crest. Spurs pro- 
jected from the face of the ridge at intervals, serving for natural bas- 
tions, from which field artillery and riflemen swept the intervening 
curtains of the slope with an enfilading fire." 

When the Fourth Corps was seen from Orchard Knob " swarming 
like bees," as Grant said, up the rugged mountain slope, the general 
turned quickly to Thomas, and said : 

" Who ordered those men up the ridge.? " 
Thomas replied, coolly : " I don't know ; I did not." 
Then came the inquiry : " Did you order them up. Granger.'' " 
'' No," said Granger. " They started up without orders. When 
those fellows get started, all h — 1 can't stop them." 



132 THE LIFE OF 

General Grant was startled, and at first dissatisfied. By and by, 
he turned to Granger's chief of staft' and said : " Ride at once to Wood, 
and then to Sheridan, and ask them if they ordered their men up the 
ridge. Tell them, if they can take it, to push ahead." 

General Fullerton writes : "As I was mounting. Granger added : 
'It's pretty hot over there, and you may not get through. I'll send 
Captain Avery to Sheridan, and other officers after both of you.' " * 

When asked, Wood said : " I didn't order them up ; they started 
up on their own account, and they are going up, too ! Tell Granger if 
we are supported, we will take and hold the ridge." 

" I didn't order them up," said Sheridan. " But we are going to 
take that ridge ! " He then asked Avery for his flask, and waved it 
at a group of rebel officers standing just in front of Bragg's head- 
quarters, with the salutation: " How are you, Mr. Bragg.? Here's 
at you ! " At once two guns — the "Lady Breckenridge " and the 
" Lady Buckner," — in front of Bragg's headquarters, were fired at 
Sheridan and the group of officers about him. One shell struck so 
near that the dirt flew over Sheridan and Avery. " Ah ! " said the 

little general, " that was d d ungenerous. I'll take those guns 

for that." 

Before Sheridan received the message taken by Avery, he had sent a 
staff officer to Granger, inquiring whether " the order given to take 
the rifle-pits meant the rifle-pits at the base or those on the top of the 
ridge.'*" Granger told this officer that "the order was to take those 
at the base." Conceiving this to be an order to fall back, this officer, 
on his way to Sheridan, gave it to General Wagner, commanding the 
second brigade of Sheridan's division, which was then nearly half way 
up the ridge. Wagner promptly ordered his men back again to the 
mountain base. They only remained a few minutes there. Sheridan 
seeing the mistake, ordered it forward. It again advanced under the 
raking fire at the lower part of the ridge. The men were climbing 
and fighting up the steep hill-side. The broken ground made it impos- 
sible to keep a regular line of battle. Sometimes the troops were in line 
like a lot of birds, again in " V"-shaped groups with the point toward 
the enemy. At these points our regimental flags were seen flying. 
Sixty of the gleaming colors were advancing up the hill, in the face of its 
defenders. 

Again, says General Boynton : " Nothing less than the palisades of 
Lookout could have stopped that Army of the Cumberland, though 

• " The Army of the Cumberland." Century, May, 1887. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



133 




THE ROUGH RIDERS. 

A STREET CAVALRY FIGHT IN KERNSTOWN, VA. 

Bragg and his thousands above still deemed their position impregnable. 
All heights were fringed with spectators of that wonderful assault. The 
guns in the Union works which had covered the first advance were 
necessarily silent. The sun shone clear on the slopes, and the advanc- 
ing flags and glittering bayonets marked the rush of the swift advance. 
Lender the fire of the sharpshooters color-bearers fell at every point of 
the line, only to be relieved by other hands eagerly bearing the colors 
forward. This deadly fire gradually drew each regiment toward its 
flag, and soon, far as the eye could reach along the slope, the line was 
transformed into countless wedge-shaped masses, with a flag at the 
point of each, cleaving their way upward, following the headlong push 
of the guards bearing the colors. The rebels, who had been hurled 
back from the lower line, were soon driven out of the second parallel, 
and thence pursued so closely to the summit that retreating Confeder- 
ates and the Union flags poured over the whole e.xtended line of works 
together." 

Bragg hurried large bodies of men from his right to the centre. 
They could be seen from Orchard Knob coming in double-quick 
time along the summit of the ridge. Bragg and Hardee were at the 
centre striving to encourage their troops, urging them to stand firm 



134 THE LIFE OF 

and drive back the advancing enemy, now so near the summit, — so 
near, that the guns which could not be sufficiently depressed, became 
useless. Artillery-men were seen lighting the fuses of shells and bowl- 
ing these by scores down the hill. At six different points, and almost 
simultaneously, Sheridan's and Wood's divisions broke over the crest. 
Sheridan's came first to the top, near Bragg's headquarters. In a few 
minutes Sheridan himself was beside the guns that were fired at him 
and claiming them as prizes. Baird's division of the Fourteenth Corps 
took the works on Wood's side almost immediately afterwards. John- 
son then came up on Sheridan's right. The enemy's guns were still 
turned upon those who were in the woods. But soon all were in flight 
down the eastern slope. Baird got on the ridge just in time to change 
front, and oppose a large body moving down from the rebel right to 
attack our left. After a sharp engagement that lasted till dark, he 
drove them beyond a high point on the north, which he at once occu- 
pied. The sun had not yet gone down, and ISIissionary Ridge was 
ours. 

Bragg afterward declared that the positions so rapidly taken were 
so strong that a single cordon of skirmishers ought to have defended 
the ridge against the whole Federal Army. Sheridan, however, had 
so well foreseen the success, that he sent to ask General Granger before 
starting, " if it was necessary to come to a halt at the foot of the hills.? " 
This was when well on his way to the top. For a brief space the sus- 
pense was terrible, but it was soon over when the troops under Sheri- 
dan, Wood, Baird, Johnson, and others, so recklessly and fearlessh' took 
possession of the summit. The Confederates could be seen from Or- 
chard Knob, retiring on the road to Ringgold. Then followed the 
wildest confusion, as the victors gave vent to their joy. Cannon roared, 
men shouted, flags waved tumultuously. Sheridan did not stop for 
congratulations or praise. With two brigades he started eastward down 
the Mission Mills road, finding strongly posted on a second hill, the 
enemy's rear. They made a stout resistance, but by a sudden flank 
movement, he drove them from the heights and captured two guns and. 
many prisoners. At 7 o'clock General Granger sent ^vord to Gen- 
eral Thomas that by a bold dash at Chickamauga Crossing, he might 
cut ofi' a large number of the enemy. It was midnight before the 
guides could be found, and then General Sheridan again put his tired 
men in motion. He reached the creek just as the rear guard of the 
enemv was crossing, and pressed it so closely that it burned the pon- 
toon bridge before all the troops were over. Sheridan captured several 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 13^ 

hundred prisoners, a large number of wagons, together with caissons, 
artillery, ammunition, and many small arms. 

In the battle of Missionary Ridge Sheridan's and Wood's divisions 
took thirty-one pieces of artillery, several thousand small arms, and 
3,Soo prisoners. But in that one hour of assault they lost 2,337 °^ their 
brave men. The fire along the rebel line was terrific while the conflict 
raged, still the damage done was comparatively small. According to 
Boynton : " From the first it had been an advance almost wholly with- 
out firing. Each successive line of works and the summit were carried 
with the bayonet. In an hour from the sounding of the signal guns 
Bragg had been swept from these dominating positions of a great nat- 
ural fortress, strengthened by every engineering art ; and the sun, which, 
at its rising, lighted up that one flag at Lookout, rested, at its setting, 
on the countless banners which a storming army had planted along the 
crest of Missionary Ridge. 

''Throughout this movement Sheridan was conspicuous, followed 
b}^ his staff'. As ever, he was splendidly mounted, and could be easily 
followed by all eyes as he dashed across the plain and rode with his 
lines to and over the crest, and withovit a halt liurled forward upon 
the retreating enemy." 

General Grant says : * "• To Sheridan's prompt movement [after 
the ridge was captured] the Army of the Cumberland and the nation 
are indebted for the bulk of the capture of prisoners, artillery, and 
small arms that day. But for his prompt pursuit, so much in this way 
would not have been accomplished." 

Hardee's command, of all the rebel army, was still unbroken. The 
Comte de Paris says of this pursuit of Sheridan's, that Hardee had 
"kept Sherman in check all day by his powerful artillery fire. At night 
he was congratulating himself on success when he heard of Bi'eck- 
enridge's disaster. Out of ten brigades only two, those which formed 
Anderson's right, maintained their ranks ; with these our right flank 
was menaced. ButBaird's arrival with Vandever's and Phelps' brigades 
obliged Anderson to fall back and seek support near Hardee." 

Taking with him Cheatham's division, Hardee moved rapidly to 
the assistance of Anderson, arriving when the latter was falling back. 
This opportune reinforcement temporarily checked our progress as we 
advanced toward the north, following the summit of Missionary Ridge. 
Cheatham's division deployed on this crest, and for a momerft resumed 
the oflensive. It then retired step by step till it reached a point which 

* Century. Article from Memoirs, November, 1SS5. 



136 GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 

it was able to hold till nightfall. Bragg gave the order to fall back 
during the night. It was then that Sheridan in hot pursuit descended 
the slope of Missionary Ridge with Wagner's and Harker's brigades 
placed on the right and left of the Chickamauga road. Night came, 
but Sheridan bi'ought his reserves into action despite the darkness and 
the difhculties of the ground. While Harker engaged the enemy in 
the front, Wagner with two regiments scaled a steep acclivity, and 
endeavored to turn Bate's right flank. As the full moon slowly rose 
behind the dark crest of the hill, Sheridan and his companions could see 
depicted against the sky the profile of Wagner's soldiers who just then 
had reached the acclivity's summit. It was the signal for a fresh attack, 
befoi-e which General Bate promptly fell back. This commander 
has since been governor of Tennessee, and is now a United States 
Senator. Sheridan moved rapidly, to prevent the destruction of the 
bridges over the Chickamauga, but at 3 a. m. he reached the stream 
only to find them in ruins. 

Again, among the soldiers growing in public honor and national 
recognition, Sheridan was one of the foremost, and also the youngest. 
He was generally acclaimed, and received special mention in all orders 
and reports. It was a complete victory. The Union army was, in round 
figures, sixty thousand strong ; the rebel nearly the same, with the 
added advantage of its strong positions. According to Grant, Bragg's 
mistakes were seen in sending aw^ay his ablest corps commander. Long- 
street, with 30,000 men ; in weakening himself by sending a division 
away the night before, and finally in massing so large a proportion of 
his troops below, and not in a position pi'actically impregnable if it had 
been well occupied. The result was to put Bragg in full retreat south- 
ward. Sherman was sent to relieve Burnside, with two corps. Long- 
street abandoned the siege without a fight. The Central South re- 
mained entirely in our hands. Sheridan remained through the winter 
and early spring with the x\rmy of the Cumberland, under General 
Thomas, at Chattanooga, and was reluctant to leave it for the East, 
having beien offered command of his old corps, and expecting to take 
part with it in the already outlined movement against Atlanta. 



Chapter XI. 



A BATTLE IN THE SNOW. 

cole's cavalry have a fight MOSEBY ATTACKS AND IS BEATEN OFF — A 

BATTLE TO THE DEATH " FIRE THE TENTS AND SHOOT BY THE LIGHT'" — 

SUFFERING OF THE MEN THE DEATH OF YOUNG PAXTON. 

Sheridan is about to occupy a larger field. In it, he will fill the 
public eye, and make the general tongue wag in wonder at the deeds 
performed. No commander, however, accomplishes great things with- 
out finding a quality kindred to himself in the officers who carry for- 
ward his designs, and in the men by whose courage and devotion the 
execution is alone made possible. The stufi'for heroes was to be found 
in the men of the Potomac Army. Even Sheridan could not have made 
its troopers the fighting centaurs they became, in that last marvelous 
year of civil strife, unless, indeed, they were made of that splendid 
human material whose mould is never broken, even if it be sometimes 
weakened. In evidence of this the reader will find the story of '' Cole's 
Cavalry " worth reading. They were a famous fragment of the troopers 
who, under his command, like mighty harvesters with their flails, 
pounded the armed enemies of the Union into fragments. The cav- 
alry under Sheridan was Grant's flail. And here are incidents con- 
nected with some of the material whereof it was made : 

One rather sultry day in September, 1S62, when the clouds of war 
were black, a second lieutenant of cavalry sat upon the top of a rail 
fence at Paxton's cross-roads, in Loudoun County, \"irginia. He was 
covered with the dust and smoke of a fight that his battalion was hav- 
ing with Moseby's command a few miles up the road. He had come 
back to the point where this scene opens, in charge of five severely 
wounded men, a partial result of the skirmish. They were lying back 
of him under an apple tree, one of them, his own brother, shot through 
the body, and believed to be mortally wounded. The other four were 
not bound to him by the tie of kindred, but they w^ere very near to him, 
for not only had they been his playmates in childhood, but the compan- 
ions of his later vears. and ever since the besrinnino: of war his closest 



1^8 THE LIFE OF 

comrades. Thev were surtering terribly, and while the officer was 
wondering how they were to be taken to the Potomac River, where 
assistance could be secured, his command came down the road some- 
what in disorder, showing- that the battle had gone against them. The 
dread of capture was now added to the gloom of the situation, but there 
was no time for reflection or despondency. Moseby was coming, and 
something must be quickly done. 

The officer sought the farmer whose name the cross-roads bore, and 
offered $ioo for a wagon to transport his wounded comrades to the 
river, a few miles distant. 

"You can have the wagon in welcome. I am a Confederate and 
have a boy in the Confederate army, and I do by you, sir, as I would 
want others to do by him if he were wounded." 

The farmer spurned the ofter of pay for his vehicle, and not only 
assisted the officer in laying straw in the bottom of the wagon and 
placing the wounded men upon it, but he drove with him to the Poto- 
mac River, where medical assistance was summoned, and the lives of 
the wounded men saved. The farmer's son was in Moseb^-'s command 
at this moment, and in the tight where these men were shot. 

The tide of battle flowed on, and the disasters of war multiplied. 
Hardly a week during the two eventful years which followed, leading 
up to the climax of this story, but that Moseby's command and the bat- 
talion to which belonged the lieutenant and the five wounded men 
met in combat. Both saw hard service. The four companies of cav- 
alry, whose marvelous gallantry under the most trying circumstances 
known in warfare gives this theme, were raised from among the 
Union men of Western Maryland and the adjoining counties of Penn- 
sylvania. They were enlisted for the difficult and dangerous duty of 
scouting along the border, a service for which their familiarity with the 
general la}- of the countr}^ specially fitted them. 

Army operations along the Potomac River were so active and im- 
portant that this battalion almost from the day of its muster into the 
service was called to the fore-front, and it was not long before "Cole's 
Cavalry" was known far and wide for its almost tireless activity and 
dauntless bravery. Major Henry A. Cole, of Frederick, Maryland, 
was the commander, and it is needless to say that he was a man of great 
dash and courage. From the very first fight in which he led his four 
companies of brave mountaineers, down to the close of the war, the 
cavalry he commanded bore his name,^ and every one of those sturdy 
veterans took a special pride in saying that he belonged to Cole's 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 139 

Cavalry. Very many of these gallant veterans are still living, but they 
are scattered to the four quarters of the country. 

It would be almost impossible to select any week during the years 
fi^om '61 to '65 that was not fruitful in the stories of the daring of this 
handful of cavalry. But there is one bold deed that stands preemi- 
nent, not only in the history of this battalion, but in the whole cavalry 
service of the war. 

If the reader could stand upon the great iron bridge which spans the 
Potomac River at Harper's Ferry, and look upon Maryland Heights, 
towering from the river's brink 2,000 feet into the air, and crowned 
with a great stone fort, useful in the days of conflict, and then turn the 
eye toward the great pile of rocks on the Virginia side, known as Lou- 
doun Heights, rising abruptly from the Shenandoah River to the height 
of more than one thousand feet, and then upon Bolivar Heights, stand- 
ing as a bold Ijackground to the desolate village of Harper's Ferry, 
he could better appreciate the situation where a singular battle was 
fought than by tracing its outlines on a map, or following a description 
of the place, however vividly pictured. 

In the winter of 1S64, Cole's Cavalry was encamped on the east face 
of Loudoun Heights, a little more than two miles by road from Harper's 
Ferry, but "as the crow flies" not more than half that distance. They 
were the only troops on that side of the river, and their position, as the 
sequel will show, was a very dangerous one. The single road leading 
past the camp toward the point where, at the beginning of this chap- 
ter, this command was engaged with Moseby, leads up the mountain- 
side, and at times was almost impassible. 

Loudoun County was the home of many of Moseby's most daring 
oflicers and men. Every path, ravine, and declivity in the neighborhood 
of this isolated camp was as familiar to them as the high-road. 

The camp was not established here without reluctance, for both 
officers and men recognized the perils which would surround it all 
through the hard winter months. For a time the men were cautious, 
and never undressed at night. Their arms were kept always within 
reach, ready for use. But the sense of danger, which all felt at first, 
wore oft'. As the weeks went by and there was no attack, not even an 
alarm, both officers and men relapsed into a feeling of security, which 
made them more mindful of their own comfort than of the dangers of 
the moment. 

About tlie first of January there was a heavy snow-fall, and the 
weather became intensely cold, inclining the men to stow themselves 



I40 THE LIFE OF 

snugly away at night, as though going to heel at home. They were also 
not over careful about their arms and ammunition. 

The 9th of January was very cold, and the night which followed 
intensely dark. The snow carpet which covered the camp was the only 
relief to the great black veil which seemed to be drawn over the face of all 
nature. It was upon this night that Moseby had determined to attack, 
and, if possible, capture this battalion of cavalry, which oftener than any 
other on the Potomac, had met him in battle, and dealt him hard blows. 

He selected about four hundred of the best of his command and 
left camp, crossing the snow-clad movmtains to the right of Major Cole's 
camp. They came by by-paths and through ravines, avoiding the 
pickets on the Hillsborough road and finally capturing them from the 
rear before they had a chance to fire a shot or alarm the camp. It was 
between 3 and 3 o'clock on the morning of the loth of January that 
Moseby captured the pickets and prepared his plan of attack upon the 
slumbering camp. His command was cjuietly and quickly posted 
along the lines of tents where the Union cavalrymen were sleeping in 
fancied security, without even a suspicion that an enemy was near. 

At a given signal a deadly fire was opened upon them. In an in- 
stant all was confusion. The volley which killed some of the men in 
their tents and wounded others was the first warning of danger. There 
had been no call to arms. " Boots and saddles " had not been sounded 
to prepare the men for duty. The crack of the enemy's guns was the 
dread demand made upon these sleeping men. They were given no 
time to reach their clothing, and almost less to grope for their arms in 
tlie darkness. Used to severe hardships, they had never yet failed to 
respond to the call of duty. Their pluck and endurance were now 
subjected to the severest test known in war, but they did not flinch or 
hesitate. Almost without waiting for the orders of their officers, the 
men turned out into the bitter cold, in their night clothes, and in most 
instances without shoes, with the snow ankle deep. The determina- 
tion with which the attack was met astonished the Confederates, who 
expected to have an easy capture after so complete a surprise. 

" Fire at every man on horseback !" was almost the first order of 
the Federal commanding officer. 

" Men, do not take to your horses !" was the next order. 

The men obeyed, and directed their fire upon every mounted man, 
and this judicious action won them the day. 

When the Confederates found that they were to be resisted to the 
death. Captain Smith, one of the principal officers in command of the 
attacking force, shouted to his men : 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



141 



" Fire the 
tents, and shoot 
'em by the 
light ! " 

He was sit- 
t i n g on his 
horse near the 
head of the row 
of tents occu- 
jDied by Com- 
pany A. A 
sergeant of that 
company, who 
had been grop- 
ing f o r his 
carbine, had 
found it, and 
was just push- 
ing his head 
through the tent 
when this order 
rang out on the 
night air. Pie 
dropjDed on his 
knees, raised 
his piece to his 
shoulder, and 

fired at the officer giving the command. The ball struck him near 
the eye, crashed through his brain, and he fell dead into the mouth 
of the tent, almost upon the man whose bullet had killed liim. 

For an hour or more this fight in the snow contimied, with varying 
chances of success. What the brave men who were doing battle in the 
bitter cold, without clothing, suffered, no man can tell, and yet they 
never wavered. 

The scene during the fight was simply indescribable. The men on 
both sides fought like tigers, and volley after volley made the night hid- 
eous. The flash of the guns as each was discharged was the only relief 
to the sombre darkness. The shouts of the men engaged could be heard 
above the din of battle, and the cries of the wounded mingled strangely 
with the confusion of the strife. As each fresh volley would for a 




"--'^■^1^^ 



COL. JOHN A. MOSEBY. 



A FAMOUS CONFEDERATE PARTISAN LEADER. CONSUL TO HONG KONG 
DURING PRESIDENT GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 



142 THE LIFE OF 

moment light up the camp with its sickening, death-like glare, some 
comrade would fall and a fresh stream of blood crimson the snow. 
How the men fought, and how they stood out during that hour, was a 
marvel, even to themselves, and the history of war cannot produce a 
more striking evidence of bravery and devotion to duty. 

Hardly had the flash from the first volley died away and the fight 
actually begun, before the sorely tried cavalrymen heard the long-roll 
beat in the camps at Harper's Ferry ; and the struggling men knew that 
if they could hold out for a little while, relief would come. The troops 
in the infantry camps on the opposite side of the river, on Bolivar 
Heights, could see the flash of every gun and hear the crack of every 
death-dealing carbine, but they were two miles away. There was no 
cavalry relief at hand, and the conflicting emotions of hope and fear as 
to the fate of the courageous little band of veterans on the mountain, 
filled the hearts of those soldiers who could hear and see, but could not 
help. 

The Thirty-fourth Massachusetts was ordered to the rescue on a 
"double-quick" as soon as it could be rushed into line. But before it 
could reach the summit of Loudoun Heights the Confederates had been 
repulsed, and Cole's Cavalry had won the fight upon the snow-clad 
mountain-top that added much to the name and fame it had already 
gained. When night lifted and day dawned upon that battle-field, there 
was a scene which never can be described. The dead lay upon the 
ground frozen stifl' by the terrible cold.' The severely wounded com- 
plained bitterly of the frost, and the bullet-pierced tents of the men 
that did the fighting were full of weary, powder-stained veterans, sufter- 
ing sorely from the eflects of frozen feet, of which they were unmindful 
until the battle was won. Seven Confederates, four of them commis- 
sioned officers, were killed in this night attack upon Major Cole's camp, 
and a great many more were wounded, some of whom ^vere carried 
oft' by their comrades. Indeed, those who were able to follow the 
retreat declared that their path was literally marked by a track of blood. 
Major Cole lost two killed and thirteen wounded. Captain Vernon, 
afterward a lieutenant-colonel, lost an eye, and Lieutenant Rivers was 
wounded. A large number of the command was sent to the hospital 
with frozen feet, and two amputations were necessary. The suftering 
of these brave men did not stop with the battle. 

General Sullivan, who was in command of the district, rode over 
from Harper's Ferry after daylight, accompanied by his staff'. He had 
the men drawn up in line, and eulogized their conduct in the strongest 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 143 

terms that words could express. He called the department com- 
mander's attention to the gallant conduct of this handful of men, 
requesting that his report of the fight be transmitted to the Com- 
mander-in-Chief. General Kelley, in complying with General Sulli- 
van's request, indorsed upon the report : J;' I cheerfully comply with 
the request of General Sullivan in calling the attention of the General- 
in-Chief to the gallant conduct of Major Henry A. Cole and his brave 
command. His repulse of the murderous attack made by an over- 
whelming force at 4 o'clock in a dark morning evinced a watchful- 
ness and bravery most commendable." The following commendatory 
order was at once issued by the General-in-Chief: 

Headquarters of the Army, / 

Washington, D. C, January 30, 1S64. ( 

Major- General B . F. Kelley^ Cumberland^ Aid. 

General : I have just received from your headquarters Major Henrv 
A. Cole's report of the repulse of Moseby's attack upon the camp on 
Loudoun Heights on the loth inst. Major Cole and his command, the 
battalion of P. M. B. Cavalry, Maryland Volunteers, deserve hio-h 
praise for their gallantry in repelling this rebel assault. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. W. Halleck, General-i?z- Chief . 

This order was read to the army, and a copy forwarded to Major 
Cole. It was the only instance during the Rebellion that such conspic- 
uous commendation was awarded from the headquarters of the army to 
anything like such a force as that commanded by Major Cole. 

There were a thousand thrilling incidents connected with this bare- 
footed fight on the mountains, in the snow, worth relating, and the 
conspicuous instances of almost unexampled bravery would include 
almost every man in the command. But there is one touching incident 
necessary to join the woof and warp of this narration. 

When daylight broke upon the scene there was a young Confederate 
soldier lying upon the field with a fatal wound in the neck, near the 
jugular vein. He was not more than twenty years of age, and a bov 
in appearance as well as in years. The officer who appears at the 
cross-roads in the beginning of this story, found him. He raised up the 
dying lad" and asked him his name. 

"My name isPaxton," replied the boy, in broken tones. 

"My God ! are you Mr. Paxton's son who lives at the cross-roads 
towards Waterville?" eagerly inquired the officer. 



144 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



"I am," was the simple response. 

The humane act of his father in 1862 was recalled, and, full of emo- 
tion, the officer picked the lad up, carried him to the hospital, laid him 
upon an easy couch, and summoned the doctor, who replied, petulantly : 

"We can't care for those men until we look after our own wounded." 

"But this boy must be cared for," said the officer; and in as few 
words as possible he told the story of 1862, when five of their men 
belonging to Cole's Cavalry lay wounded upon Paxton's farm at the 
cross-roads. 

There was no more parleying, and the boy was at once carefully 
attended to, but he was beyond human aid. All that could be done 
for him to ease his last moments, was done. All the command felt, 
terribly as they themselves had suflered and were suffering, that this 
boy was entitled to every attention that could be shown him. 

"I do this," said Mr. Paxton in 1S62, when he assisted in taking 
the wounded men toward the river, "because I would want others to 
do the same by my boy, who is in the Confederate army, if he should 
be wounded." 

The same officer and the same men who heard these words and 
received that favor, dealt the death-blow to that son. Yet his dying 
moments were made easier by them for the favor his father had done. 

For this fight the battalion was raised to the dignity of a regiment, 
and Major Henry A. Cole was made its colonel, and Captain Vernon 
its lieutenant-colonel. The other officers were promoted to various 
positions in the regiment, but neither oflicers nor men, in their ad- 
vanced places, lost an opportunity to refer with pride to the "old bat- 
talion" and its record. 




Chapter XII. 



SUMMONED TO WASHINGTON, 



HARD SERVICE AFTER CHATTANOOGA — GRANT PUTS HIM IN COMMAND OF ALL 
THE CAVALRY IN THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC — DISGUSTED AT BEING 
ORDERED EAST THE CONFIDENCE HE INSPIRED ROSTER OF THE CAV- 
ALRY CORPS — DISPUTE WITH MEADE — CHANGING SHERIDAN'S ORDERS AND 
ITS RESULTS. 

After Chattanooga, what? Hard senice 
without cessation. The little soldier welcomed 
it unhesitatingly. He had won commendation 
on all sides ; most ungrudgingly from General 
Grant, who had from the first appreciated the 
youiig general, blunt of speech and bold of 
deed, untiring in action, persistent of pursuit, 
and fertile of resources under all conditions. He 
still further aiDpreciated him when he saw at 
Chattanooga, how his valor and energy could 
not alone secure victory for himself, but repair 
also the breaches made through others. Adam 
Badeau says in his volume on the military life 
of Grant, that when first made brigadier, the 
young commander eagerly seized on the oppor- 
tunity to participate in the pending campaign of 
General Buell, which terminated for that ofiicer 
at Perryville. Grant, says Badeau, was " net- 
tled " at Sheridan's willingness to leave the 
"Army of the Tennessee, then (1S62), by Hal- 
leck's removal to Washington and acceptance of 
the post of General-in-Chief, under ' Uncondi- 
tional Surrender's' immediate command." Ba- 
deau adds : " Grant followed Sheridan later to 
the same field, and again at Chattanooga the fiery spirit and genius of 
Sheridan commended him to his superior. Grant always spoke in 
10 




GEN. H. JUDSON KILPATRICK, 

A FAMOUS UNION CAVALRY LEADER, 

AND MINISTER TO CHILI AFTER 

THE WAR. 



146 THE LIFE OF 

glowing language of Sheridan's charge at Missionary Ridge, and still 
more warmly of his pursuit of the enemy afterward. He already saw 
that quality so rare, even in an illustrious soldier — the power to make 
the most of a victory. 

"When Grant became (as lieutenant-general) the General-in-Chief, 
he at once put Sheridan at the head of the eastern cavalry. 

" I remember asking him about the new commander, who at that 
time I had not seen, and his praise was enthusiastic when he described 
the energy and ability, the promptness and persistency of Sheridan. 
Grant always became eloquent when he talked of Sheridan or Sher- 
man. His face would flush with generous ardor, his eyes gleamed, and 
he even gesticulated a little when he spoke of the feats of the tw^o men 
who could ever, by any chance, become his rivals. After a very short 
time I can testify to the confidence, the chivalrous admiration, the com- 
mendation, which Grant bestowed on his cavalry commander. 

" In the Wilderness camj^aign the young general (barely thirty 
years of age) was constantly given the most difficult and dangerous 
tasks. When he was sent off' on a distant expedition his formal orders 
went through Meade, but Grant always saw him in person, and added 
verbal instructions, but leaving all detail of execution to Sheridan. 
They understood each other easily, they had so much in common." 

Grant himself says in his Memoirs^ that it was Halleck who sug- 
gested Sheridan's name. Here is what Grant wrote : 

" In one of my early interviews with the President, I expressed my 
dissatisfaction with the little that had been accomplisl^ed by cavalry so 
far in the war, and the belief that it was capable of doing so much if 
under a competent leader. I said I wanted the very best man that 
could be had. 

" Halleck was present and spoke up, saying : ' How would Sheridan 
do.^ ' I replied, ' The very man I want,' and the President said I 
could have any one I wanted. Sheridan was telegraphed for that day, 
and took command of the cavalry corps. This relieved General Alfred 
Pleasonton." 

Sheridan, however, did not receive his new assignment without dis- 
taste. He had been promised command of his old corps. The battle- 
fields of Virginia had proven the grave-yard, in character, of so many 
rising soldiers, that it was not to be wondered at, that a brilliant young 
soldier like Sheridan should feel distrust at a command which might, in 
its results, ultimately cloud his own splendidly growing reputation. 
So it was, however. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 147 

There were yet over four months of toilsome work before Sheridan, 
ere he was to flash, meteor-like, over his new field of action. Imme- 
diately after the battle and victory of Chattanooga, Grant had to be 
assured of the temporary prostration at least, of the rebel forces his 
armies had so completely driven from their chosen positions. It was 
soon found that Bragg had fallen rapidly back to Ringgold, Georgia, 
and beyond. This southward movement relieved Tennessee. The 
head-lines of the New York Tribzme's dispatches of November 27th, 
give in staccato sentences a picture of the condition of affairs which is 
worthy of reproduction. Here they are : 

" Panic flight of the rebels ! 

" They burn the bridges behind them, all their depots and stores, 
and abandon everything that retards their flight ! 

"Three thousand prisoners taken — fifty-two cannon — 5,000 stand 
of arms and ten battle-flags ! 

" The rebels fly, leaving Longstreet to take care of himself!" 

A dispatch of the 26th, says : 

" Sheridan reached Chickamauga Station at 4 p. m. He captured 
500 prisoners, four guns, and a number of pontoons." 

Quartermaster-General M. C. Meigs, in a most brilliant dispatch, 
wrote that " the battle extended six miles along Missionary Ridge and 
for sevei'al miles along Lookout Mountain. No better ordered or 
directed battle has taken place dvu'ing the war." 

The condition of aflairs that followed is shown by this dispatch of 
December 3d : " Generals Hooker and Palmer evacuated Ringgold this 
morning [Tuesday, December ist]. There is no enemy within twenty- 
three miles. But they are in force at Tunnel Hill." That was at least 
sixty miles south of Chattanooga. 

Sherman, however, with part of the Army of the Tennessee (Mc- 
Pherson held Northern Alabama with the balance) and two divisions 
of the Fourth Corps (Granger's) , Army of the Cumberland, was im- 
mediately sent after Longstreet, and to relieve East Tennessee entirely. 
Sheridan and his division were part of this command which, in the slush 
and snow of early winter, marched over the mountains to Knoxville. 
Longstreet with all of the regular Confederate forces under his com- 
mand, made a hasty retreat and complete evacuation of the entire 
region, falling back eastward into Southwest Virginia. The relief thus 
afforded had a great effect on the preponderating Union sentiment, and 



148 GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 

the Tennessee mountaineers flocked by the thousands to the Union 
army. 

Our troops at Chattanooga were in December and January placed 
in winter quarters, along the Lookout Valley, holding the railroad 
to Loudon, and at Huntsville, Northern Alabama, helping to keep 
open the railroad and river communications with Nashville, Memphis, 
and Louisville. Sheridan was at Knoxville in January, 1864, when 
on the 12th of that month, Grant was there, leaving that day to com- 
plete a tour of the southern portion of the great territorial area under 
his command. The Union army was reported as " in good condition 
with plenty to eat," but the weather was bitterly cold. Active, though 
isolated rebel movements began to be reported, showing their desire to 
at once resume offensive-defensive operations. A news dispatch from 
Chattanooga, under date of January 15, 1S64, says : 

" When the jDursuit of Bragg ceased at Ringgold, Sherman was sent 
to the relief of Burnside, then besieged at Knoxville by Longstreet. 
Two divisions of the Fourth Corps (Granger's), of Thomas' command, 
were pushed up another route — so together to drive Longstreet from 
Eastern Tennessee. When Grant left Knoxville the military world 
was held fast in the bonds of winter. There is no likelihood of any- 
thing being done on either side for the present. But as soon as the 
weather permits our forces will be in motion." 

That the time for " motion " soon came is seen in a Chattanooga 
dispatch which locates General McPherson's troops (Sherman's Army 
of the Tennessee) as destroying the bridges on some portion of the 
Mobile and Ohio railroad in Mississippi and Tennessee, and a long 
distance from Knoxville. This was probably done by a portion of 
General G. M. Dodge's command, which had been left at Decatur and 
along the railroad line to Corinth, southwest, and to Nashville at the 
north. 

The camp and bivouac records of this period convey interesting 
evidence of the esteem in which Sheridan was held. They also show 
the feeling over the battle of Chickamauga which existed in the Army 
of the Cumberland. In Sheridan's division, especially, the cry was 
"Chickamauga!" when rushing up Missionary Ridge. When the 
division charged over the summit, a rebel captain was captured by a 
drummer boy of one regiment, and refusing to go to the rear, our 
boy pushed him upon the breast- works, and gave him a kick that sent 
him headlong down the hill, accompanying the demonstration with a 
ringing shout of " Chickamauga ! d — n you, Chickamauga ! " 




ONE OF SHERIDAN'S TROOPERS. 

GEN. GEORGE A. CUSTER, 

As He Appeared on Passing Through Harper's Ferry to Join General Sheridan, Aug. 7, I 864. 
[From a Sketch by J. E. Taylor.^ 



1^0 THE LIFE OF 

A favorite camp song of this period, under the title of " Keep Step 
to the Music of the Union," has this verse : 

" So Sheridan, our leader, proclaimed, 
While fearlessly through all the battle 
His soul like a thunderbolt flamed. 
O! still shall his patriot engine 
Crash over disloyalty's cars. 
Until every State that seceded 
Returns to the old stripes and stars." 

The poetry is rude and the rhythm is jDoor, but the sentiment is un- 
questionable. 

February and March passed unbroken by serious incident with the 
Army of the Cumberland. Evidence accumulated that the Confeder- 
ate army, under General Joseph E. Johnston, was making ready by 
an active campaign to meet and anticipate offensively the advance that 
the Union forces would soon make, southward from Chattanooga, and 
indeed from the Tennessee River in general. 

Grant was in Nashville early in March, when summoned to Wash- 
ington. He had been commissioned lieutenant-general, the grade 
only held theretofore in the American Army by Washington and Scott, 
but destined after Grant's further promotion to be held by both Sher- 
man and Sheridan. On the I2th of March Grant was at Washington. 
On the 17th it was reported he would return West. In a few days 
thereafter it was known to the country and the Army of the Cumber- 
land, that the lieutenant-general would direct in person the operations 
of our force in Virginia and against Richmond, and that its most bril- 
liant and youngest division commander, Philip Henr}^ Sheridan, had 
been ordered east for service. 

On the 8th of April, 1S64. the following order was made : 

"Major-General P. H. Sheridan is assigned to the command of the 
Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac." 

The importance and numerical character of that command may be 
seen from the following roster (May 5, 1S64), as subsequently pub- 
lished by the War Department : 

COMMANDING THE CAVALRY CORPS. 
Major-General Philip H. Sheridan. 

ESCORT. 

Sixth United States, Captain Ira W. Claflin. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. i^i 



FIRST DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General A. T. A. Torbett. 

First Brigade. 

Brigadier-General George A. Custer. 

First Michigan, Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Stagg. 
Fifth Michigan, Colonel Russell A. Alger. 
Sixth Michigan, Major James H. Kidd. 
Seventh Michigan, Major Henry W. Granger. 

Second Brigade. 

Colonel Thomas C. Deven. 

Fourth New York,* Lieutenant-Colonel William R. Parnell. 
Sixth New York, Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Crocker. 
Ninth New York, Colonel William Sackett. 
Seventeenth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel James Q^ Anderson. 

Reserve Brigade. 

Brigadier-General Wesley Merritt. 

Nineteenth New York (ist Dragoons,) Colonel Alfred Gibbs. 

Sixth Pennsylvania, Major James Starr. 

First United States, Captain Nelson B. Sweitzer. 

Second United States, Captain T. F. Rodenbough. 

Fifth United States,! Captain Abraham K. Arnold. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General David McM. Gregg. 

First Brigade. 
Brigadier-General Henry E. Davies, Jr. 

First Massachusetts, Major Lucius M. Sargent. 
First New Jersey, Lieutenant-Colonel John W. Kester. 
Sixth Ohio, Colonel William Stedman. 
First Pennsylvania, Colonel John P. Taylor. 

Second Brigade. 
Colonel J. Irvin Gregg. 

First Maine, Colonel Charles H. Smith. 

Tenth New York, Major M. Henry Avery. 

Second Penn sylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph P. Brinton. 

* Detached guarding trains. 
cln^rS Ts-'g^L" : "' ""' "'" '''''"" J"''"' ^^- ^^^°"' ''^'^'^^^'^ ^^ «^-^ t° Lieutenant. 



ip THE LIFE OF 



Fourth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel George H. Covode. 
Eighth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Wilson. 
Sixteenth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel John K. Robison. 

THIRD DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General James H. Wilson. 

Escort. 
Eighth Illinois (detachment), Lieutenant William W. Long. 

First Brigade. 
Colonel Timothy M. Bryan, Jr. 

First Connecticut, Major Erastus Blakeslee. 

Second New York, Colonel Otto Harhaus. 

Fifth New York, Lieutenant-Colonel John Hammond. 

Eighteenth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. P. Brinton. 

Second Brigade. 
Colonel George H. Chapman. 

Third Indiana, Major William Patton. 

Eighth New York, Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Benjamin. 

First Vermont, Lieutenant-Colonel Addison W. Preston. 



The effective force of each brigade would average two thousand, 
and the total cavalry under the new commander would aggregate at 
least fourteen thousand men and horses. Subsequently Sheridan had 
command also of the cavalry of the Army of the James, consisting of 
the following troops under : 

Brigadier-General August V. Kautz. 

First Brigade. 

Colonel Simon H. Mix. 

First District of Columbia, Lieutenant-Colonel Everton J. Conger. 
Third New York, Lieutenant-Colonel George W. Lewis. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 1^3 

Second Brigade. 

Colonel Samuel P. Spear. 

Fifth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Kleinz. 
Eleventh Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel George Stetzel. 

Artillery. 

New York Light, Eighth Battery, (section,) Lieutenant Peter Morton. 

UNATTACHED TROOPS. 

First United States Colored Cavalry, Major Harvey W. Brown. 
Second United States Colored Cavalry, Colonel George W. Cole. 
Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, Thirteenth Company, (pontoniers,) Captain 
John Pickering, Jr. 

Brigadier-General Averill commanded a cavalry division operating 
in the valley under Hunter first, and afterguards with Crook. He was 
with Sheridan from the latter's entrance in the Valley of the Shenan- 
doah, at a later date. 

There was no boy's play ahead, but work that was to make a conti- 
nent rock, and whose reverberations were heard round the world. 

A story is told at this time, and early in the Wilderness movements, 
which aptly illustrates Sheridan's independence. General Meade, in 
immediate command of the Army of the Potomac, changed the orders 
of Wilson at Todd's Tavern. The spunky little commander, on learn- 
ing of this interference, roundly demanded to know " if he (General 
Meade) commanded the cavalry, or whether he (Sheridan) did, by 

G ." There was a stormy period, and then Meade gracefully 

acknowledged he was wrong. As a matter of fact, had Sheridan's 
orders not been tampered with by jNIeade on the evening of May 7th, 
1S64, Spottsylvania would have been successfully held in all human 
probability against Lee, and the terrible fight at the Bloody Angle 
would not have occurred. Badeau says, that while Grant's written 
orders to Sheridan were always sent through Meade, yet that he 
personally consulted with his cavalry commander on all such matters. 




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Chapter XIII. 



FROM THE WILDERNESS TO JAMES RIVER. 

Howard's review of the field — from Virginia to Louisiana — the cav- 
alry AND its temper MOVING TO THE WILDERNESS GUARDING ROADS 

AND SUPPLIES — THE LOSSES IN THE MAY FIGHTING — SHERIDAN'S FIRST 
GREAT RAID ROUND RICHMOND — THE YELLOW TAVERN FIGHT — REJOINING 
THE ARMY. 

General Oliver O. How^ard says in the Cejiiury of July, 1887,* 
that : 

" On the iSth of Maixh, 1S64, Grant and Sherman w^ere together 
at Nashville. Grant having received promotion, immediately set out 
for Washington, and Sherman (having returned from East Tennessee 
and Northern Alabama) accompanied him as far as Cincinnati. That 
meeting and journey were of interest. They involve the thorough dis- 
cussion and planning of eventful campaigns. Soldiers like Grant and 
Sherman consider first the forces at their disposal, and next a plan of 
operations. Grant had novv^ under his general charge all the Union 
armies, — the Army of the Potomac, under Meade ; that of the Ohio, 
near Knoxville, under Schofield ; that of the Cumberland, under Thomas, 
near Chattanooga ; that of the Tennessee, under McPherson, scattered 
from Huntsville, Alabama, to the Mississippi ; that of the Gulf, under 
Banks, in Louisiana ; besides subordinate detachments, under Steele 
and others, in Arkansas and further v\^est. 

" Grant took the w^hole field into his thought. He made three 
parts to the long, irregular line of armies, which extended from Vir- 
ginia to Texas. He gave to Banks the main work beyond the Missis- 
sippi ; to Sherman the middle part, covering the hosts of McPherson, 
Thomas, and Schofield, and reserved to himself the remainder. The 
numbers were known, at least on paper ; the plan, promptly adopted, 
was simple and comprehensive; Break, and keep broken, the connect- 
ing links of the enemy's armies ; beat them one by one ; unite for a 
final consummation. Sherman's part was plain. Grant's plan, flexible 

* " The Struggle for Atlanta," Vol. XXXIV., pp. 442-63. 



1^6 THE LIFE OF 

enough to embrace his own, afforded him ' infinite satisfaction.' It 
looked like ' enlightened war.' " 

These words of Howard's are quoted in order to give that breadth 
and significance to the whole vast field of operations which will enable 
us fully to understand the great part assigned, subordinate in outward 
seeming though it was, to the young major-general and division com- 
mander whom Grant, with his unerring sagacity as to soldiers, had 
drafted from the Army of the Cumberland to that of the Potomac, and 
placed in command of all its superb array of cavalry troopers. The 
struggle was reduced to a system of pounding on our part, costly, heroic, 
and full of terrible sacrifice. In it Sheridan had to do a wonderful 
part, breaking constantly the communications and supply lines of an 
already exhausted foe, holding, however, to its position — the key of 
the Confederate struggle — with a tremendous tenacity and a slowly 
expiring vitality which never yielded until annihilation was threatened. 
Howard's few words indicate also what proved to be the weak points 
in Grant's comprehensive survey. It was a weakness he received and 
did not create. Sherman was able in the Atlanta campaign to break 
the last sturdy resistance of the Central South, and then by his " march 
to the sea," to prove that the Confederacy was indeed a " hollow shell." 
If the operations projected for the Southwest had been as vigorously 
executed, the Civil War would doubtless have closed some months 
earlier. A brief review of Howard's references to that " third" of the 
Union field, will thi-ow some light on the causes of the long lingering 
vitality displayed by Lee and Johnston during the terrible punish- 
ment inflicted by Meade, Sheridan, and Sherman, in their several places, 
and under Grant's orders. 

Howard speaks of the Union lines as irregularly extending from 
Virginia to Texas. In reality they reached only, as to the Southwest, 
to the Indian Territory at Fort Gibson, and to Shreveport, Louisiana. 
The points held on the Gulf coast had little or no importance at the time 
named by Howard, who is also a little wrong in giving Banks full 
sway. That general was charged with an important movement up the 
Red River to Shreveport. General Steele at Little Rock was required 
to move simultaneously from that point southwesterly toward Shreve- 
port. He moved twenty-two days later, and as a result Banks was first 
overwhelmed by a conjunction of the Confederates under Dick Taylor, 
Kirby Smith, and Sterling Price. Steele was then beaten in detail and 
driven back by the forces under the two latter commanders. General 
S. R. Curtis was commander of the Department of Kansas, and Gen- 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 1^7 

eral James G. Blunt was his fighting lieutenant in the field. Under 
the plans first sanctioned and then overthrown by Halleck, before 
Grant assumed chief command of field operations, Blunt was to have had 
command of some twelve thousand men, mostly mounted, who from Fort 
Smith, Arkansas, on the border of the Indian Territory, were to have 
raided in the rear of the Confederate armies of the Southwest, and 
broken up the supply depots of Northern Texas and Louisiana. Blunt's 
troops were unwarrantably taken from him by Halleck's order, and 
transferred to Steele, who through that action moved too slow, and 
really caused Banks' defeat on the Red River. These facts are worth 
understanding, as they practically caused a prolongation of the war, by 
enabling the Confederate authorities to retain unharmed its enormous 
cattle and wheat sources in Texas, and preserving also for nearly 
twelve months longer the power of reinforcement from the armies in 
the Southwest. These actions and changes sprang from the prejudices, 
and not the wisdom of Halleck, Steele, and other officers of the regular 
army, who were in high places. The men of Kansas were "anti- 
slavery radicals," and that was sufficient until Grant assumed full com- 
mand, and obtained thereby the necessary understanding of the whole 
field. One of his first orders was to assign Rosecrans to command of 
the Missouri Department, and Pleasonton as second, with headquarters 
at St. Louis. 

On Sheridan's advent, the cavalry arm of the Army of the Potomac 
was found somewhat demoralized by the same influences that had up 
to that date injured the morale of the entire force. It was in large 
part due to the army's undue nearness to the national capital, and 
the political forces collected there, which sometimes proved potent to 
arouse personal ambition and disturb discipline. Even Gettysburg had 
not succeeded in restoring, or rather, in creating, a fighting unity. It 
needed the presence of commanders untouched by the forces which had 
for nearly three years, more or less, unfavorably affected the efficiency 
of a great and valiant soldiery. It was also necessary that the com- 
mander should have rank enough to command all the gallant generals 
who were there upon the final battle-fields. In the promotion of 
U. S. Grant this was achieved. As to the cavalry, it was i^eady to 
receive the soldier who had stormed Missionary Ridge. Major-General 
Alfred Pleasonton, a splendid organizer and tactician at least, but who 
was not popular with his brigadiers, was sent by Grant to the Depart- 
ment of the Missouri. Sheridan took his command. From that hour 
Pleasonton was forgotten. What a galaxy of men, mainly young, 
too, like himself, did the new ti'ooper find awaiting his commands ! 



i;;8 THE LIFE OF 

There were Torbett, Merritt, Deven, Crook, Kautz, Chapman, Custer, 
Henry E. Davies, Jr., the Greggs, Spear, Buford, Irving, Mackenzie, 
Bryan, Dahlgren, Alger, and two score more, as famous as those, who 
have not been nan:ied invidiously, or to detract from the fame of others. 

At midnight, or soon after. May the 3d and 4th, 1863, the Army of 
the Potomac moved from its position north of the Rappahannock, on a 
march towards the Wilderness, entering on that campaign which was to 
close nearly one year later by the surrender of the Southern Confederacy. 
At the beginning of this great campaign the Army of the Potomac had 
been reorganized into three infantry corps — the Second (Hancock), 
the Fifth (Warren), and the Sixth (Sedgwick, afterwards Wright). 
The Ninth (Burnside) served as an independent command until May 
24th, when it was permanently attached to Meade's army. A cavalry 
corps under Sheridan completed the organization. The Confederate 
army was composed of three corps — Longstreet's (later R. H. Ander- 
son's) on their left, Swell's in the centre, and A. P. Hill's on the right, 
General Robert E. Lee commanding the whole. 

It is not a necessary part of this work to describe the tremendous 
conflict of the Wilderness, or of Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and 
North Anna. Our work is with the cavalry under its new commander, 
so soon to prove himself to be a very thunderbolt of war. In the first 
movements, Sheridan's cavalry was charged with the necessary but, 
perhaps, prosaic duty, even to a soldier, of guarding supply trains and 
lines of communication. The corps under Sheridan's command had 
for brigade commanders such leadei's, in the First Division, as Brig- 
adier-General George A. Custer, Colonel Thomas C. Deven, and 
Brigadier-General Wesley Merritt. In the Second Division were 
Brigadier-General David McM. Gregg, and Brigadiei'-General Henry 
E. Davies, Jr., and Colonel J. Irvin Gregg. The Third Division 
was commanded by Brigadier-General James H. Wilson, and Colonels 
Timothy M. Bryan, Jr., and George H. Chapman. The total effective 
force of the Union army has been carefully estimated at 118,000 men, 
and that of Lee's at 61,000. It must be remembered that under all 
military rules, the Confederates, being on their own ground, chosen for 
defense, were at least equal to the Union forces in operating strength. 
At Cold Harbor, on the ist of June, twenty-eight days after beginning 
to cross the Rappahannock, there were reported " present for duty" 
103,875. The cavalry corps was not "present." The strength or 
losses of Lee's army are nowhere authoritatively given. According 
to the late Colonel Scott, the Union army lost during that memorable 
battle month, as follows : 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



'S9 





is 


1 







The Wilderness, 

Spottsylvania Court House, 

North Anna and Tolopotomj, . 

Cold Harbor, ...... 

Sheridan's first expedition, 
Sheridan's second expedition, . 


2,246 

2,725 

591 

1,844 

64 
150 


12,037 
13.416 

2.734 

9.077 

337 

741 


3.383 

2,258 
661 

1,816 
224 
625 


17,666 

18,399 
3.986 

12,737 
625 

1,516 


Grand total from the Wilderness to the 
James River, 


7,620 


38,342 


8,976 


54,929 



The loss has been counted as enormous. Aggregated in this wise 
it certainly seems so. But remembering that much of the earlier and 
severer fighting was done in the Wilderness, amid timber, brush, and 
undergrowth, and that the struggle over the " Bloody Angle " at Spottsyl- 
vania was one of the terribly contested events in modern warfare, it will 
be seen that the loss is not greater, as a whole, than that of other 
battles of the Civil War ; certainly not more, proportionably to time 
and troops, than was the case at Pea Ridge, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, 
Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. The differ- 
ence between losses under Grant and those incurred under other Union 
commanders in Virginia, is seen in the fact that Grant moved forward, 
and the others generally fell back after winning or losing a battle. 
Grant's losses were always gains in the game of war. 

Besides the continual skirmishing and the arduous duties devolving 
on troopers in a moving army, the cavalry corps fought several splen- 
did independent engagements. On the 5th of May, when Warren's 
leading division, vmder General Getty, first became engaged with the 
enemy, Wilson with his cavalry division was further south, and was 
cut oft' from the rest of the army. On the arrival of Hancock's 
troops the battle became general. In this day's fighting Brigadier- 
General Alexander Hays, a classmate of Grant's, was killed. During 
the afternoon, Sheridan sent Gregg's division to Todd's Tavern in 
search of Wilson, whom he found engaged with a superior force 
under the Confederate cavalry leader, Rosser. Fortunately, together 
they were enabled to assume the aggressive and drive the enemy beyond 
Corbin's bridge, which was done in fine style. 



i6o THE LIFE OF 

On the morning of the 6th, Sheridan moved to connect with Han- 
cock's left, there to attack the enemy's cavahy, which was endeavoring 
to get to our left and rear. They had not yet learned the quality of the 
new commander they were opposing, and so were not as cautious as 
they sooh after became. Sheridan met, attacked, and defeated the 
enemy, commanded by Stuart in person, at Todd's Tavern and at the 
junction of Furnace and Brock roads. Later in the day he was himself 
attacked, and again defeated the enemy. The sound of these engage- 
ments caused Hancock to make stronger his position at the Brock road's 
opening. In the closing of that day's engagement Longstreet was 
severely wounded, and Lee in person took command of his right wing. 

The 6th of May closed the fighting in the Wilderness, General 
Custer on the following morning moving against the rebel cavalry and 
driving them from Catharpin Furnace to Todd's Tavern. No effort at 
resistance was made by Lee. 

The movement to Spottsjdvania at once began. Sheridan concen- 
trated at Todd's Tavern and had considerable severe fighting, lasting 
till long after nightfall. He held the field at its close. The purpose 
of the stand taken here was clear. It was to prevent our cavalry press- 
ing too sharply the rear of Lee's army as it fell back to a stronger 
position. 

Grant says, Sheridan issued the necessary orders for seizing Spott- 
sylvania and holding the bridge over the Po River, which Lee's troops 
would have to cross to get to Spottsylvania. But Meade, on his 
arrival, changed Sheridan's orders to Merritt, who was holding the 
bridge. The road was thereby left free for Anderson's advance. He had 
succeeded to Longstreet's command. Wilson had obeyed orders, seized 
the little town, and was holding it with his cavalry division. If Lee's 
left had been detained at the Po by Merritt, as Sheridan directed, Wil- 
son could have been reinforced. Warren would, have come up while 
the gallant Merritt with his two brigades was resisting Anderson's 
advance. However, the compulsory evacuation of Spottsylvania by 
Wilson on that day enabled the terrific battle so named in the annals 
of the Civil War to be fought as it was, and at that point. 

Sheridan now had other work to do. It was on the morning of the 
Sth — that of the opening storm of Spottsylvania — that Grant ordered 
Sheridan to cut loose from the army and go round Richmond. How 
well and swiftly he did the work assigned him can be seen in the 
fact that on the nth instant, the closing day of the great battle of 
Spottsylvania, Sheridan sent back a dispatch of his successful progress 
toward and around Richmond. It was in this raid that he met and 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



16) 




overthrew 
Stuart ; and 
that he also 
successfully 
withstood 
the tempta- 
tion of en • 
tering Rich- 
mond, which 
undoubted- 
ly, he could 
have done. 

The sto- 
ry of Sheri- 
dan's ser- 
vices after 
the Wilder- 
ness, and 
before the 
Army of the 
Potomac 
was quar- 
tered on the 
James, can 
be well told 
in Grant's 
words : 

" On the 
8th of May, 

just before the battle of the Wilderness, and when we were moving on 
Spottsylvania, I directed Sheridan verbally to cut loose from the Army 
of the Potomac, pass around to the left of Lee's army and attack his 
cavalry; to cut the twO' railroads — one running southwest through 
Gordonsville, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg, the other to Richmond 
— and when compelled to do so for the want of forage or rations, to 
move on to the James '.River and draw from Butler's supplies. This 
move took him past the entire rear of Lee's army. The objects of this 
move were threefold : 

" Firsts If successfully executed, and it was, he would annoy the 
enemy by cutting his line of supplies, and destroy or get for his own use 
supplies in store at their rear, or coming up. 
11 



GEN. A. T. A. TORBETT, 

SHERIDAN'S CHIEF OF STAFF IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 



i62 THE LIFE OF 

" Second^ He would draw the enemy's cavalry after him, and thus 
better protect our flanks, rear, and trains, than by remaining with the 
army. 

" Thirds His absence would save the trains drawing his forage and 
other supplies from Fredericksburg, which had now become our base. 
He started at daylight the next morning and accomplished a great deal 
more than was expected. It was sixteen days before he got back to 
the Army of the Potomac. The course Sheridan took was directly to 
Richmond. Before night Stuart, commanding the Confederate cav- 
alry, came on the rear of his command. But Sheridan's advance kept 
on, crossed the North Anna, and at Beaver Dam, a station on the Vir- 
ginia Central railroad, recaptured 400 Union prisoners on their way 
to Richmond, destroyed the road, and used and destroyed a large 
amount of their subsistence and medical stores. Stuart, seeing that our 
cavalry was pushing toward Richmond, abandoned the pursuit on the 
morning of the loth, and, by a detour and exhausting march, interposed 
between Sheridan and Richmond at Yellow Tavern, only about six 
miles north of the city. Sheridan destroyed the railroad and more 
supplies at Ashland, and on the nth arrived in Stuart's front. A 
severe engagement ensued in which the losses were heavy on both 
sides, but the rebels were beaten, their leader mortally wounded, and 
some guns and many prisoners captured. 

'•' Sheridan passed through the outer defenses of Richmond, and 
could no doubt have passed through the inner ones. But having no 
supports near, he could not have remained. After caring for his 
wounded, he struck for the James River, below the city, to communi- 
cate with Butler, and to rest his men and horses, as well as to get food 
and forage for them. He moved first between the Chickahominy and 
the James, but on the morning of the 12th he was stopped by batter- 
ies at Mechanicsville. He then turned to cross to the north side of the 
Chickahominy by Meadow Bridge. He found this barred and the 
defeated Confederate cavalry, again reorganized, occupying the opposite 
side. The panic created by his first entrance within the outer works 
of Richmond having subsided, troops were sent out to attack his rear. 
He was now in a perilous position — one out of which few generals 
would have extricated themselves. 

"The defenses of Richmond were to the right, well manned; the 
Chickahominy was to the left with no bridge remaining, and the oppo- 
site bank well guarded. Close to his rear was a force from Richmond. 
This force was attacked and beaten by Wilson's and Gregg's divisions, 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 163 

while Sheridan turned to the left with the remaining division and 
hastily built a bridge over the Chickahominy under the fire of tbc 
enemy, forced a crossing, and soon dispersed the Confederates he found 
there. The enemy was held back from the stream by the fire of the 
troops not engaged in bridge building. 

" On the 13th, Sheridan was at Bottom's Bridge and over on the 
Chickahominy. On the 14th he crossed that stream and on that day 
went into camp on the James River at Haxall's Landing. He at once 
put himself into communication with General Butler who directed all 
supplies he wanted to be furnished. 

"Sheridan had left the Army of the Potomac at Spottsylvania, but 
did not know where either it or Lee's army was placed. Great cau- 
tion, therefore, had to be used in getting back. On the 17th, after rest- 
ing his command for three days, he started on his return. He moved 
by the way of the White House. The bridge over the Pamunkey had 
been burned by the enemy, but a new one was speedily improvised, and 
the cavalry crossed over it. On the 22d he was at Ayletts on the 
Mattapony where he learned the position of the two armies. On the 
24th he joined us on the march from North Anna to Cold Harbor, in 
the vicinity of Chesterfield. 

" Sheridan on this memorable raid passed entirely around Lee's 
army, encountered his cavalry in four engagements, and defeated them 
all ; recaptured 400 Union prisoners, and killed and captured many of 
the enemy ; destroyed and used many munitions of war and supplies ; 
destroyed miles of railroad and telegraph, and freed us from annoyance 
by the cavalry of the enemy for more than two weeks." 

Sheridan's rejoining the army on the North Anna was the signal 
for renewed cavalry service. The North Anna country was a differ- 
ent field of operations from any the army had been in during that series 
of battles. The roads were wide and good, and the countr}' well culti- 
vated. But we had neither guides nor maps to tell where the roads 
were, or where they led to. By reconnoitering Grant was enabled to 
locate those in the vicinity of each army corps. The course was south, 
and we took all routes leading in that direction which would not separate 
the army too widely. Hancock had the lead. He marched easterly to 
Guinney's Station, on the Fredericksburg railroad, thence southerly, to 
Bowling Green and Milford, and was at Milford on the night of the 
2 1st of May. Here he met a detachment of Pickett's division, which 
was coming from Richmond to reinforce Lee. They were speedily 
driven away, and several hundred captured. WaiTen followed on the 
morning of the 21st, and reached Guinney's Station that night without 



164 



THE LIFE OF 



molestation. Burnside was in supporting distance. The cavalry was 
again with the army, and played an important part in the Cold Harbor 
movements. These required that there should be great vigilance exer- 
cised. Grant threw the head of his columns to the south, and directed 
that they march on all roads so leading that were not too widely sepa- 
rated. The impression was given by our movements that we were 
designing to attack the left flank of Lee's army, while the real aim was 
to throw our own forces safelv across the James, as well as other im- 
jiortant streams that intervened. Their presence made the country 
veiy defensible. Grant says of these movements, and the use made of 
his cavalry, that : 

''Wilson's division of cavalry was brought up from the left and 
moved by our right south to Little River. Here he managed to give 
the impression that we were going to attack the left flank of Lee's army. 
Under cover of night our right wing was withdrawn to the north side 
of the river, Lee being completely deceived by Wilson's feint. On the 
afternoon of the 36th Sheridan moved, sending Gregg's and Torbett's 
cavalry to Taylor's and Littlepage's Ford, toward Hanover. As soon 
as it was dark both cavalry divisions moved quietly to Hanover Ferry, 
leaving small guards behind to keep up the impression that crossings 
were to be made. We were enabled, therefore, to tiu'n the enemy's 
right by crossing at or near Hanover town. This move crossed all 
three streams at once, and left us still where we could draw supplies. It 
was a delicate move to get the right wing of the Army of the Potomac 
from its position south of the North Anna, in the presence of the 
enemy." 

In a letter of instruction to "Major-General Meade, of this date, he 
says : 

General Smith will start up the south bank of the Paniunkey at 
an earlv hour, sav 3 a. m. It is probable that the enemy being aware 
of Smith's movement, will be feeling to get on our left flank, for the 
pmpose of cutting him ofl, or by a dash to crush him and get back 
before we are aware of it. Sheridan ought to be notitied to watch the 
enemv's movements well out toward Cold Harbor, and also on the 
Jklcchanicsville road. I want Sheridan to send a cavalry force of at 
least half a brigade, at 5 A. M., and communicate with Smith and return 
with him. I will send orders for Smith by the messenger you send to 
Sheridan with his orders. 

U. S. G. 

On the 31st Sheridan's advance was near the Old Cold Harbor. He 
found it intrenched and occupied by rebel cavalry and intantry. A 
hard fight ensued, but the place was carried, as was the constant custom 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. i6^ 

of our h-oopers at this date. The importance of Cold Harbor was 
understood. The Confederates seemed determined that we should not 
hold it, retui-ning to the attack with such a large force that Sheridan was 
about withdrawing without making any further effort to hold it against 
overwhelming odds. He had commenced the evacuation, but received 
orders to hold the place at all hazards, until reinforcements could be 
sent him. To receive was to obey. The rebel works were speedily 
faced against them, and his men were placed in position for defense. 
Night came on, however, before the enemy was ready to' renew the 
assault. Wright's corps was ordered directly to Cold Harbor that 
night, marching in the rear of our army. It was expected to arrive 
by daylight, but was not there till 9 A. M., on the ist of June. Slieri- 
dan had gallantly and successfully repelled two fierce assaults. Smith, 
who was expected early, did not arrive till the afternoon had half 
waned. Anderson, of Lee's left, moved along Warren's front and 
was vigorously attacked on the flank, but he succeeded in holding 
and fortifying the position he had gained. At six that evening (June 
I, '63), Wright and Smith charged the rebel works, broke their 
lines, driving them back, and capturing over seven hundred prisoners. 
Grant expected to take the oflensive early next morning, and especially 
ordered that every advantage gained was to be pressed to the utmost, 
in order to drive or draw Lee out of his cover. Sheridan having rec- 
onnoitered the banks of the Chickahominy to find crossings and the con- 
dition of the roads, reported favorably upon the chances of crossing. 
During the night Lee moved his left up to make his line correspond 
with ours. The Confederate lines extended from the Tolopotdmv and 
New Cold Harbor to the Chickahominy, with a division of cavalrv 
watching our right. 

An assault was ordered for the 3d, to be made mainlv bv the corps 
under Hancock, Wright, and Smith : but Warren and Burnside were 
to support it by threatening Lee's left, and to attack witli earnestness if 
a fiivorable opportunity presented itself. Hancock sent Barlow forward, 
and afl:er some very severe fighting he carried a position outside the 
enemy's main line. Three pieces of artillery and several hundred 
prisoners were also taken. Gibbon had an encounter and gained much 
ground. Wright's corps captured the outer rifle-pits in its front. 
Smitli'salso carried the outer rifle-pits in its front. Warren and Burn- 
side advanced and gained ground which brought the whole armv on a 
line. Tliese assaults cost us heavily. The next day and night were 
spent making our intrenchments as strong as Lee's. 



Chapter XIV. 



BREAKING THE CONFEDERATE COM- 
MUNICATIONS. 

Sheridan's second great Virginia raid — intended to connect with 

HUNTER — operations IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY — THE REBEL CAV- 
ALRY LEADERS DESTROYING THE VIRGINIA CENTRAL RAILROAD FIGHT 

AT TREVILIAN STATION — CONSTERNATION IN RICHMOND RETURN TO 

CITY point: — OPERATIONS ABOUT PETERSBURG WILSON AND KAUTZ SOUTH 

OF RICHMOND — THE BATTLE OF REAMS STATION. 

Just before the completion of the great operations by wliicli the 
Army of tlie Potomac had been brought to tlie north banl<; of the James, 
tlie second of Sheridan's great raids became a necessity. Lee's position 
was now so near Richmond that it was determined by the next flank 
movement to carry the Army of the Potomac across and south of the 
James River. This movement was a hazardous one. The Chicka- 
hominyhad to be crossed. All the bridges over it had been destroyed ; 
the enemy had shorter roads and better ones to travel on to confront 
us on crossing ; more than fifty miles intervened between Grant and 
Butler, and lastly, the Army of the Potomac had to be got out of a 
dangerous position : it was but a few hundred yards from Lee's army 
at the widest place. Sheridan was sent on the 7th of June with two 
divisions to communicate with Hunter, and to break up the Virginia 
Central railroad and the James River Canal, also taking instructions 
to Hunter to come back with him. 

The canal and Central road and the region penetrated by our troopers 
on this raid, were of vast importance to the enemy, furnishing and car- 
rying a large per cent, of all the supplies they required for the Army of 
Noi-thern Virginia and the people of Richmond. Before Sheridan got 
■off on the 7th, Hunter's messengers reported his advance to Staunton 
and a successful engagement with the enemy near that place on the 
5th, in which the Confederate commander, General W. S. Jones, was 
killed. 



i68 THE LIFE OF 

The death of General J. E. B. Stuart had deprived the Confederate 
Army of Northern Virghiia of its most daring field comniander. The 
cavahy under " Lee's master of horse," — as Lieutenant-General Wade 
Hampton, with that pompous affectation of feudalism once so com- 
mon in the South, was often called — consisted, at the time of Sheri- 
dan's second great raid, of three divisions, and seven brigades. " Its 
roster was as follows : 

CAVALRY CORPS. 

Lieutenant-General Wade Hampton, Commanding. 

Major-General Fitzhiigh Lee's Dii'ision. 
Brigadier-General W. E. Wickham's Brigade. 
Brigadier-General L. L. Lomax's Brigade. 

• Major-General M. C. Butler's Diri'sion. 

Brigadier-General John Donovan's Brigade. 
Brigadier-General P. AL B. Young's Brigade. 
Brigadier-General Thomas L. Rosser's Brigade. 

Major-General W. H. F. Lee's Division. 
Brigadier-General Rufus Barringer's Brigade. 
Brigadier-General J. R. Chamblis' Brigade. 

Grant's Memoirs say in a foot note that this corps appears to have 
consisted of Hampton's, Fitzhugh Lee's, and W. H. F. Dearing's bri- 
gades. Obviously it Avas inferior to the mobile and eflective force that 
Grant and Sheridan had made of the Union cavalry. This opposing 
disparity of numbers, as will be seen, was due largely to the longer lines 
of cavalry defense, scouting, and operations generally, which the posi- 
tion of Lee's army was then and thereafter requiring. Grant's strate- 
getical action practically comprehended and brought about a vigorous 
concentration of Union forces in Virginia. The Confederates' was 
rapidly being reduced to but two objects : the defense of Richmond, 
and the maintenance of their lines of communication and fields of 
supply. ■ The first compelled him to keep his infantry well in hand. 
He was allowed but twice to detach efiicient forces from the army, 
which Grant's unyielding persistence kept constantly engaged. These 
occasions were in the direction of his granaiy — the Valley of the Shen- 
andoah, to which he had sent Early, the North Carolinian, and after- 
wards gave him the force of Longstreet's genius, the efiect of which 
was seen in the very narrow escape at Cedar Creek, when " Sheridan 
saved the day." The second object obliged him to extend and thus 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 169 

weaken the force and value of his cavahy. Sheridan's skill in hand- 
ling the cavalry, and Grant's genius in directing, may be clearly, even 
luminously traced, from this point onward. The opportunity was offered 
to make of this arm of the service something far greater than vedettes, 
pickets, guards for I'oads, messengers to commanders, or even advance 
raiders and fighting " rough riders." Sheridan so used the cavalry as 
to make it, in effect, a swift-moving army, to be hvu-led with terrible 
force in a given direction, and then moved away oft' as swiftly as it came. 
Then came his other use of it — a use born of his own genius in war : 
the handling of it as a screen for the massing of infantry bodies behind 
it. This digression is necessary to illustrate the nature of Sheridan's 
future movements. He was assigned to the breaking up of commu- 
nications, then to the occupation of supply fields, and finally to the 
work of leading, as well as screening, the vast forward movement which 
finally ended the armed rebellion. 

It will be interesting to note at this point the personalities and past 
and present positions of some of the rebel cavalry leaders, for they, 
like our own, were all men of mark. Contrary to our own rule, at 
least in the Army of the Potomac, the majority of the rebel commanders 
were from civil life. In the roster given, Brigadier-Generals W. H. 
F. Lee, P. M. B. Young, and T. L. Rosser are the only West 
Pointers. The last two belonged to the class about to gi'aduate when 
the Civil War begfan. General Young: has since served several terms 
in Congress as a Representative from Georgia. Rufus Barringer is 
from North Carolina, and has since the war become a Republican. He 
is, or was recently, a judge in the International Court, which sits in 
Egypt under the Khedive's rule. General W. H. F. Lee is now a 
farmer on part of the Lee estate, within a short distance of Washing- 
ton and almost in sight of Arlington, where Sheridan has been laid at 
rest. Llis cousin, Fitzhugh Lee, is now the governor of Virginia. The 
lieutenant-general is now United States Senator Wade Hampton, rep- 
resenting, with one of his former major-generals and division com- 
manders, Senator M. C. Butler, the State of South Carolina in the Sen- 
ate Chamber of a restored Union. General Wickham, who is now 
dead, became, some years after the war, a Republican United States 
Senator from Virginia. 

The true hero of the Confederate cavalry was unquestionably James 
E. B. Stuart. He is thus described by a Southern writer, as he re- 
ported in 1862 to General Johnston, at Williamsburg, Virginia, during 
the first Peninsula Campaign : " He appeared much fatigued and over- 



I70 THE LIFE OF 

\v(nked, and would have served admirably for a picture of Dick Tur- 
pin when chased by officers on the York road. His horse was a 
splendid black, with heavy reins and bits, cavalry saddle and holsters ; 
foam stood in a lather upon him, and he was mud-splashed ft'om head 
to foot. The officer himself bore no insignia of command. A com- 
mon black felt hat, turned down in front and up behind ; a heavy black 
overcoat, tightly buttoned ; elegant riding boots covering the thighs ; 
a handsome sabre, carelessly slung by his side, and a heavy pair of 
Mexican spurs, that jingled and rattled on the pavement as he dis- 
mounted, were all that could be noticed at a distance. A nearer view, 
however, showed a full-faced, ruddy-complexioned man, with close-cut 
hair, and apparently some thirty years old. His eyes were bright, 
beaming, and when lighted up, piercing and full of deep expression. 
A stranger, unaccustomed to the war, would have at first taken him to 
be the daring chief of some wild predatory band ; and yet, a moment 
more would cause a change of opinion, especially on hearing him 
speak, and noticing the high-toned, gentlemanly bearing he displayed." 
General Hunter was informed by way of Washington and the val- 
ley that Sheridan was on the way to meet him. The following letter 
was sent to Hunter : 

Cold Harbor, Va., June 6, 1864. 
Major-General D. Hunter, 

Commanding Department West Va. 

General Sheridan leaves here to-morrow morning with instructions 
to proceed to Charlottesville, Va., and to commence there the destruc- 
tion of the Virginia Central railroad, destroying this way as much as 
possible. The complete destruction of this road and of the canal on 
James River is of great importance to us. According to the instruc- 
tions I sent to General Halleck for your guidance, you were to pro- 
ceed to Lynchburg and commence there. It would be of great value 
to us to get possession of Lynchburg for a single da}^ But that point 
is of so much importance to the enemy that in attempting to get it such 
resistance may be met as to prevent your getting onto the road or canal 
at all. I see, on looking over the letter to General .Halleck on the 
subject of your instructions, that it rather indicates your route should be 
from Staunton via Charlottesville. If you have so understood it, you 
will be doing just what I want. The direction I would now give is, 
that if this letter reaches you in the valley between Staunton and 
Lvnchburg, you immediately tvn^n east by the most practicable road until 
you strike the Lynchburg branch of the Virginia Central road. From 
thence move eastward along the line of the road, destroying it com- 
pletely and thoroughly, until you join General Sheridan. After the 
work laid out for General Sheridan and yourself is thoroughly done. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 171 

proceed to join the Army of the Potomac by the route hiid out in Gen- 
eral Sheridan's instructions. 

If any portion of your force, especially your cavalry, is not needed 
in your department, you are authorized to send it back. 

If on receipt of this you should be near to Lynchburg and deem it 
practicable to reach that point, you will exercise your judgment about 
going there. 

If you should be on the railroad between Charlottesville and 
Lynchburg, it may be practicable to detach a cavalry force to destroy 
the canal. Lose no oppoi'tiniity to destroy the canal. 

U. S. Grant, Lieut.- General. 

This comprehensive plan thus briefly outlined was never laid aside 
by its author, though it took more months of hard fighting ere, under 
Sheridan, there was even a chance to execute a considerable portion of 
it. Lynchburg was never taken. It surrendered with or after the 
Army of Northern Virginia. 

Crook and Averill wereon the nth, known to have united and to be 
moving east. This, with the news of Hunter's successful Staunton 
engagement, must have been known to Lee before the news reached 
Grant. Sheridan's departure with two divisions of cavalry looked 
threatening to both Lee's communications and supplies. The rebel 
cavalry was sent after Sheridan, and Early with Ewell's entire corps 
was pushed to the Valley of Virginia. Consternation prevailed again 
in Richmond. It was Sheridan's mission in those days to spread alarm 
and terror within the rebel capital. vSupplies were growing scarce 
within it, and the outside refugees who were driven in by fears of our 
raiders, helped to consume the little that remained. Grant's object was 
to practically put Richmond in a state of siege, and this could not be 
accomplished while to the south and west communications remained 
unimpaired. 

This second great raid of Sheridan and his cavalry, though it 
failed to unite with Hunter owing to Lee's sending Early strong rein- 
forcements, and thus compelling " Black Dave" to fell back up the 
valley, was full of memorable encounters, chief of which was the brilliant 
battle at Trevilian Station. Sheridan started on the 7th of June from 
Cold Harbor. He crossed the river and pushed at once to reach the 
station and commence his destruction at that point. On the night of the 
loth he bivouacked some six miles east of that place, while Fitzhugh Lee 
was on the same night at the station itself. Wade Hampton was but a 
few miles away. During the night Hampton ordered an advance on 
Sheridan, hoping, no doubt, to eflect a surprise and thereby badly cripple 



172 • THE LIFE OF 

him. Sheridan, however, by a counter-move, sent Custer on a rapid 
march to get between the two rebel divisions and into their rear. This 
Custer successfully executed. At daylight, when the assault was made, 
the enemy found himself at the same time attacked in his front and 
rear. His troops broke in considerable confusion. Sheridan got away 
with five hundred prisoners, and sent them to City Point. On the same 
day Sheridan moved into Trevilian Station, and the following day pro- 
ceeded to tear up the road, east and west. There was considerable fight- 
ing during the whole of the day, but the work of destruction went on. 
At night the enemv had possession of the crossing which Sheridan had 
proposed to take to go north when he left Trevilian. Sheridan learned, 
however, from some of the prisoners he had captured, that General 
Hunter was near Lynchburg, and therefore there was no use of his 
going on to Charlottesville to meet him. 

On the night of June 12th, Sheridan started back, moving north 
and east. He reached the White House on the 21st, after a consider- 
able detour, and found an abundance of forage and supplies for both 
horses and men. The James River was crossed on the 26th, Sheridan 
transferring all supplies, etc., in breaking up the depot, to the south 
side of the river. 

While Sheridan was absent on this raid the transfer of the Army 
of the Potomac had been etVected. Soon at\er dark on the 7th, some 
of our cavalry at Long Bridge also eflected a crossing of the Chicka- 
honiiny, by wading through the swampv water and mud, waist deep. 
They then drove away the Confeilerate pickets. A pontoon bridge was 
speedily thrown across. Warren's corps followed the cavalry, and on 
the morning of the 13th Hancock followed Warren. Burnside took 
the road to Jones' Bridge, followed by Wright. Ferrero, with the 
wagon train, moved by Window Shades and Cole's Ferry, our rear 
being covered by Wilson's cavalry. Warren on crossing, moved out 
and joined Sheridan's cavalrj- in holding the roads from Richmond 
while the army passed. But no attempt to oppose the crossing was 
made. The advance of the army reachetl the James River on the 14th 
of June. The same day pontoon bridges were laid. Next day Grant 
visited Butler at Bermuda Hundred for the purpose of directing a move- 
ment against Petersburg while the Armv of the Potomac was crossing 
the James. Butler gave Smith about six thousand reinforcements, 
including some twenty-five hundred cavalry under Kautz, and about 
thirty-five hundred colored infantrv imder Hinks. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 17^ 

Smith in his advance encountorccl a rebel force intrenched between 
City Point and their lines ontside of Petersburg. This position he 
carried. Hancock was sent across to reinforce Smith at Petersburg-. 
He arrived in front of the lines early on the 15th and spent the dav 
reconnoitering apparently empty works, consisting of redans occupy- 
ing commanding positions, with rifle-pits connecting them. The 
assault was made with the colored troops and with success. By nine 
that night, he was in possession of flye of these redans and the rifle-pits 
with them. Hancock came up and relieyed Smith's men, who were in 
the trenches. On the i6th, Hancock was in command and captured 
another redan. 

Meade arrived, and during the day carried three more redans. All 
the guns ami men in these redans fell into our hands. Beaureo-ard, 
who up to this time hail commanded south of Richmond, had received 
no reinforcements though calling strongly for them, believino- we were 
seeking Petersburg. On tlie 17th, the fighting was very severe. That 
night Beauregard fell back to a ne%v line and commenced fortifying it. 
On the iSth our troops took the position he had vacated. The armies 
remained quiet now until the 2jd, \vhen General Meade ordered an 
advance towards the Weldon railroad. 

After a sharp battle the Union soldiers were ^yithd^a^vn, and to the 
Arni)- of the Potomac was given the investment of Petersburg, while 
the Army of the James held Bermuda Hundred. 

The balance of the cavalry corps was not idle while these operations 
were in progress. During Sheridan's twenty-days absence from head- 
quarters, General INIeade sent General James H. A\'ilson with liis 
division, aided by General Kautz' ca\alry, on a raid to destroy the 
Weldon and Southside railroads. His position, however, soon grew pre- 
carious, and on the 2;th, the day after his arrival at City Point, Sheri- 
dan was in the saddle again, crossing the river to demonstrate in alil of 
Wilson's retreat. The united commands burneil Reams Station and 
all the buildings, ten miles south of Petersburg, and were able to tear 
up the track tor several miles. They tlien pushed over to the. South- 
side railroad at Ford's Station, five miles further south of Petersburg. 
They destroyed it, and the road also to Nottoway Station, twenty-two 
miles south. At Nottoway a vigorous hand-to-hand encounter was 
had with a brigade of Virginia and North Carolina troops, commantled 
by Fitzhugh Lee in person. The enemy was defeated and severely 
punished. General Kautz then pushed on to Burke's Station, the 
junction of the Southsidewith the Danville road. It was at this place. 



174 GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 

nine months later, that General Grant sent in his tirst demand for Lee's 
surrentler. Kautz destroyed a lar^c section of both roads, and then 
pushed on to Meherrin Station and joineil Wilson thei-e. They then 
destroyed the road to Staunton River. But the country was in arms 
ai^ainst the Union raiders. Lee hurried his cavalry against them, and the 
mounted farmers joined in the hurry. Our cavalry was forced to turn 
hack. They expected to fight their way to Reams Station, on the 
W'eldon. This, they believed, wouUl be in our possession. Instead, 
they encovmtered Hampton with his cavalry, supported by two infantry 
divisions under Mahone and Finnegas, the Irish-American soldiers of 
the Armv of Northern Virginia. 

Our cavalry was compelled to accept battle against these great odds 
of at least four to one, and were severely defeated, reaching our lines 
below Petersburg in bad condition. Sheridan crossed the river on the 
27th to make a diversion in favor of our hardly pressed cavalry. This 
movement focilitated their retreat and prevented the rebel pursuit being 
as active. It was the only defeat of anv portion of our Potomac cavalry 
after Sheridan assumed command. 

It is impossible to particularize details. The cavalry movements 
thus inaugurated under Sheridan by Grant's orders were of so gigantic 
and audacious a character as to give a new conception of such warfare. 
The dash, vigor, boldness, and audacity displayed at all times startled 
the Confederate commanders. They recognized that this was a "new 
departure," and the abler ones saw that the end was rapidly approach- 
\n<y. It would require the pen of a poet and the brush of an artist com- 
bined, dipped in the simshine,. or made red with tlie blazonry of battle, 
to describe the tone, color, movement, of these events. It is simply 
impossible. It is only glorious to have lived and been of them. 




Chapter XV. 



FROM CORPS TO DEPARTMENT 
COMMANDER. 

THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY — HUNTER AND EARLY — THE VALLEY'S IMPORT- 
ANCE TO THE VIRGINIA CONFEDERATES — CAVALRY RAIDS ON RAILROADS — 

WASHINGTON IN DANGER THE MINK EXPLOSION HOW SHERIDAN BECAME 

A DEPARTMENT COMMANDER MAKER OF HIS OWN CAREER LIKKNESS 

TO NAPOLEON. 




GEN. AUGUST V. KAUTZ, 



Major- 
General 
David Hun- 
ter was in 
the Valley of 
Virginia 
early in that 
fateful mid- 
sum m e r of 
1864. Sigel 
had preceded 
him. "Black 
Dave," as 
Hunter was 
called in the 
old a r m y , 
took the of- 
fensive. He 
fought at 
Piedmont in 
the Shenan- 



A DISTINGUISHED GERMAN-AMERICAN OFFICER - COMMANDER OF THE 
CAVALRY OF THE ARMY OF THE JAMES UNDER SHERIDAN. 



doah Valley 
on the 5th of 

June, defeating the rebels. On the 8th he effected a junction at Staunton 
with Generals Crook and Averill, the latter in command of a cavalry divis- 
ion, and the former with a large force of West Virginia infimtry. Hunter 



176 



THE LIFE OF 



moved directly on Lynchburg by way of Lexington, which place he 
reached May i6th. His main difficulty was from inability to transport 
ordnance stores sufficient for the vigorous operations he was striving to 
execute. His movements did great damage, destroying grain, forage, 
food, growing crops, and otherwise making waste the granary of Lee's 
army. The fear of losing Lynchburg made Lee send " old " Jubal A. 
Early with his corps to oppose Hunter. He arrived first at Lynchburg 
— a most important point on the railroad lines extending south and 
southwest from Virginia — before Hvmter, who, after brisk skirmishing 
on the 17th and iSth of June, was compelled to retire for the want of 
ammunition, and to reach the Ohio River by a circuitous route through 
the mountainous valle}'S of the Gauley and Kanawha rivers in West 
Virginia. On reaching the Ohio his army was transported to Harper's 
Ferry, by the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. As a consequence of this 
retreat Early occupied the valley and Washington was uncovered. He 
moved at once on the national capital, arriving before it on the nth 
of Jul}'. General Lew Wallace at Baltimore, in Hunter's enforced 
absence, commanded his department. Wallace's force was small, and 
generally raw troops. Washington had a very small effective garrison. 
There was a considerable body of convalescents who were ordered into 
the intrenchments. The department clerks and the quartermaster's 
employes had been organized as regiments, and were also put under 
arms. Brigadier-General Halbert A. Paine, of Wisconsin, afterward 
in Congress, and who is now a practicing lawyer at the Federal city, 
was placed in command of the defenses. General Paine had com- 
manded the colored division in the famous attack upon the rebel works 
at Port Hudson. He lost a leg there, and was on invalid duty at the 
time of these occurrences. 

Wallace had pushed forward from Baltimore to the Monocacy with 
such force as he could gather. He was soon joined by General Rick- 
etts' division of the Sixth Army Corps, which JNIeade had already 
ordered, to Baltimore by Grant's orders. They arrived on the Sth of 
July. Ricketts at once followed Wallace, and together they gave bat- 
tle to Earlv. Though defeated, this fight delayed his progress for one 
day, enabling the balance of the Sixth Corps which had already been 
sent forward by Grant, to reach Washington on the night of the nth 
instant. It has been reported, and never denied, that Early could have 
easily marched into the city on the afternoon of the nth. Brecken- 
ridge, at a council held in the senior Frank Blair's residence at Silver 
Springs, Maryland, six miles from Washington, urged an immediate 
forward movement. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 177 

Among the troops in the defenses before Early were some six com- 
panies of Vermont cavahy — part of Sheridan's troopers, who were at 
the cavalry depot selecting horses to remount their regiment. They 
were under command of Major Chamberlain. Immediately on arrival 
at our meagrely manned works, they were ordered out in front of them 
as skirmishers. That these men were veterans every rebel understood. 
Early, with information from inside sympathizers that the Sixth Corps 
was expected to relieve the endangered city, could not be persuaded to 
believe otherwise than that the Vermont cavalrymen were part of 
Wright's corps, and withheld his attack till morning, when he found 
it was too late. Preparations had been made within the Federal city 
for disaster. The more important public archives and treasures were 
all ready for removal to, if not on board our war vessels in the Poto- 
mac. The public buildings and Capitol would have been blown up if 
necessary. This, at least, is generally understood. The rebel sympa- 
thizers within our lines were known to have prepared food, etc., for 
their friends, and some of the more indiscreet paid the penalty of show- 
ing their feelings by imprisonment in the " Old Capitol" jail. ^ 

In the West there had been some disasters to the Union cause. 
Sherman was pounding away in the Atlanta campaign. Then came 
the mine disaster at Petersburg, which Grant in his Memoirs deliber- 
ately sets down to the discredit of General Burnside. The famous 
mine was ready for explosion on the 33d of July, and Grant writes that 
he designed that event as the occasion, if possible, for carrying Peters- 
burg. To that end he wrote : "It was the object, therefore, to get 
as many of Lee's troops away from the south side of the James River 
as possible. Accordingly, on the 26th, we commenced a movement with 
Hancock's corps and Sheridan's cavalry to the north side, by way of 
Deep Bottom, where Butler had a pontoon bridge laid. The plan was 
to let the cavalry cut loose, and joining with the cavalry of the Army 
of the James, General Kautz, get by Lee's lines and destroy as much 
as they could of the Virginia Central railroad, while, in the meantime, 
the infantry was to move out so as to protect their rear, and cover their 
retreat back when they got through with their work. 

"We were successful in drawing the enemy's troops to the north 
side of the James, as I expected. The morning of the 30th was fixed 
for the explosioruof the mine. All was ready by the 30th, and on the 
29th Hancock and Sheridan were brought back near the James River 
with their troops." 
13 



lyS • THE LIFE OF 

"Under cover of the night they started to recross the bridge at 
Deep Bottom, and to march directly tor that part of our lines in front 
of the mine. Warren was to hold his line of intrenchments on Burn- 
side's right, while Ord. now commanding the Eighteenth Corps, under 
Meade, was to form in the rear of Burnside, to support him when he 
went in. Everybody was ordered to charge as soon as the mine had 
been sprung, except Burnside's troops, who were to push to the top 
of the hill, supported by Ord and \Yarren. 

" There was some delay about the explosion, and it did not go oft' 
until 5 A. M., but it was very successful, making a crater twenty feet 
deep, and something like a hundred feet in length." 

The heavy cannonading Grant planned, began immediately. Troops 
marcheel into the crater, but there was no one to give them proper direc- 
tions. The Confederates were seen flying in all directions, as rumors 
of the town being undermined were in circulation. So great was their 
confusion, that it was half an hour '' before musketrv Are was opened 
on our men." Grant savs : 

•'The eftbrt was a stupendous failure. It cost us about four thou- 
sand men, mostly, however, captured ; and all due to inet^ciencv on 
the part of the corps commander, and of the division connnander who 
was sent to lead the assault." 

Next day, however, finding that the portion of Lee's army which 
had been drawn north of the James was still there, Grant immediately 
gave orders to have the cavalry with infantry supports sent out under 
Sheridan to destroy, before Lee's troops could get back, from fifteen to 
twenty miles of the Weldon railroad, to the south of Richmond. This 
was successfully accomplished and without any serious fighting. It was 
the last of Sheridan's raids in that region. The time had come for the 
young soldier to take on larger responsibilities and to practically as- 
sume the independent command of a separate army. The '' old women " 
at Washington (among whom Mr. Lincoln was not, it will be clearly 
seen, to be counted) were afraid to trust this voung soldier. They 
were always in dread of Washington and its safety. This fear made 
'' Old Brains " a trembling strategist, and the Carnot of our conflict, 
Secretary Stanton, a constant hinderer of regional success. The same 
fear had infected with ambition or dread, the councils or decisions of every 
soldier who had risen to the command of the Army of tlie Potomac. 
Grant had sagaciously separated himself from direct relations with 
Washington influence. Lie soon found that his instructions were trans- 
lated in the War Department adversely to the views he held. Pursuit 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



179 



was out of 
the range 
\vhere the 
capital Nvas 
concerned. 
When the 
failure at 
Petersburg- 
made it self- 
evident that 
a I o n g e r 
period re- 
mained of 
patient 
hammering 
ngainst Lee 
and t h e 
chief Con- 
f e d e r a t l 
forces and 
g o V e r n - 
ment in and 
n r o u n d 
Richmond 
Grant sa\\ 
clearly that 
this delav, 
to be ser- 
viceable, 
m u s t b e 

compensated for in other and more important directions. The fall of 
Atlanta was one of these compensations. 

But in Virginia other action was imperative. General Wright, 
with the Sixth and a portion of the Ninth Corps, had failed in a vigor- 
ous pursuit of Early, who, however, supposed for some days that he 
was being actively followed southward. Since Grant's advent the 
Confederates had begun to expect the untiring activity which was so soon 
to have its disastrous etlect on the'iv //lora/c. Early turned and assumed 
the otlensive on tinding that Wright had a severe attack of Washington 
paralvsis. The Confederate general returned to Winchester, where 
Crook was stationed with a small force, and drove him out. He then 




OfcN. DAVID McM. GREGG. 

A FAMOUS DIVISION COMMANDER UNDER SHERIDAN. 



i8o THE LIFE OF 

pushed north until he had reached the Potomac ; then he sent McCaus- 
land across to* Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to destroy that town. It 
was entirely defenseless, with no garrison or fortifications, but it was 
burned by Early's orders, on the 30th of July. Grant says: '•! now 
recalled the troops that I had sent to destroy the railroad and sent them 
to Washington City. After burning Chambersburg McCausland re- 
treated, pursued by our cavalry, toward Cumberland." Here he was 
met and defeated by General Kelley, and driven into Virginia. 

An interesting contest now occurred, as it were, " behind the scenes." 
The importance of the Shenandoah Valley as a base of supplies was 
well understood by the Virginia Confederates. Grant desired to destroy 
this, and utterly. As Sheridan himself said afterward, in a dispatch 
announcing its accomplishment, that it was necessary to lay the valley 
so bare "that a crow flying over it must carry its rations." Pre- 
viously to the Petersburg affair, Grant had asked for the assignment of 
Major-General Sheridan to the command of Hunter's department. Mr. 
Stanton was understood to object on account of the age of the gallant 
soldier rendering him unfit for so important a command. It is prob- 
able that the real reason was that Sheridan would always prefer Grant's 
policy to that of Stanton. On the ist of August, Grant having settled 
that a waiting policy was necessary in front of Richmond, ordered re- 
inforcements to Washington for its direct protection and forwarded to 
the Cabinet general the following : 

Major-General Halleck : 

I am sending General Sheridan for temporary duty, whilst the 
enemy is being expelled from the border. Unless General Hunter is 
in the field in person, I want Sheridan put in command of all the 
troops in the field, with instructions to put himself south of the enemy 
and follow him to the death. Wherever the enemy goes, there let our 
troops go also. Once started up the valley, they ought to be followed 
until we get into possession of the Virginia Central railroad. If Gen- 
eral Hunter is in the field, give Sheridan direct command of the Sixth 
Corps and the cavalry division. All the cavalry will reach Washing- 
ton in the course of to-morrow. U. S. Grant. 

President Lincoln, on reading this, sent Grant a remarkable dis- 
patch, which reads as follows : 

Lieutenant-General Grant : 

I have seen your dispatch in which you say, I want Sheridan put 
in command of all the troops in the field, with instructions to put him- 
self south of the enemy, and follow him to the death, etc. This, I 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



i8i 



think, is exactly right, as to how our forces should move. But please 
look over the dispatches you may have received from here, even since 
you made that order, and discover if you can, that there is any idea in 
the head of any one here, of putting our army south of the enemy, or 
of following him to the deatJi^ in any direction. I repeat to you it will 
neither be done nor attempted unless you watch it every day, and hour, 
and force it. A. Lincoln. 

Grant's reply was emphatic and significant: " I start for Washing- 
ton in two hours." 

Sheridan and the first two divisions of his cavalry corps were 
already on the way. Grant went on to the Monocacy where Hunter's 
army was encamped, not stopping at Washington. Hunter did not 
know where to find the enemy. He had been so embarrassed by orders 
from the cap- 
ital, moving 
him right and 
left, that he 
had lost all 
direct traces of 
Early. Grant 
at once deter- 
mined to find 
him, an d 
pushed f o r 
H a 1 1 1 o w n , 
four miles 
above Har- 
per's Ferry, 
quite sure that 
the foe would 
soon be found 
in front of our 
troops moving 
south. In- 
structions 
were then 
written to 
General Hun- 
ter, in which 
it was sug- 
gested that 




ti.V%^^-^i 



GEN. ALFRED N. DUFFIE, 

A DISTINGUISHED FRENCH CAVALRY OFFICER, WHO PERFORMED GALLANT 
SERVICE WITH THE UNION ARMY. 



i82 THE LIFE OF 

department headquarters be established, of which he assume com- 
mand, leaving Sheridan in the field with the fighting force. The 
latter was then in Washington. To this Hunter replied that General 
Halleck seemed to doubt his fitness, and he had better be relieved alto- 
gether. This was done by Grant, and Sheridan assigned to the com- 
mand. The latter was ordered by telegrapli to go at once to the 
Monocacy. He arrived on a special train, upon the 4th of August, but 
the troops were all oft' before his appearance. Grant met him at the 
little station, told what had been done, and what he was to do, giving 
him at the same time the instructions already prepared for Hunter. 
He at once assumed his new command in a general order to his troops. 
Sheridan's first grand opportunity had come. He was but thirt3'-tvvo 
years old, and in command of 30,000 men, the flower of our eastern 
army. There were eight thousand of the finest cavalry in the world, 
under such commanders as Averill, Torbett, D. McM. Gregg, Custer, 
Deven, Wesley Merritt, H. E. Davies, and J. Irvin Gregg. Against 
him was Early, with an equal force, including Stonewall Jackson's 
veterans, Rosser's and Wickham's rebel cavalry. The valley was a 
familiar battle-field to their forces, and eminently adapted also to the 
defensive-offensive operations which distinguished the entire history of 
Lee's struggle in Virginia. 

The brilliant commander already held the expectant North by its 
eager ears. The attention of the country was truly turned upon the 
new star in oiu* military firmament. It was no nebulous flicker that 
was seen ; no mere asteroid dimly gleaming on clouded sky ; but a full- 
orbed planet that glowed steadily through all the lurid storms that o'er- 
cast our summer horizon. Surely the large place he now filled was 
well won, for Sheridan had no adventitious aids in his upward career. 
The lucky incident of Granger's suggesting to Captain Alger Sheridan's 
appointment as colonel of the Second Michigan Cavalry, and the for- 
tunate circumstance of Governor Blair's presence at Pittsburg Landing, 
cannot be esteemed as other than the incidents which sometimes favors 
modest merit. A luckier and more personal fact that greatly shaped 
the outset of Sheridan's superb career, is seen in that dislike of volun- 
teer officers which Halleck always exhibited, and which always made 
him push forward the West Pointers and trained men of the regular 
army, no matter how young they were or how little actual service they 
had seen. Li Sheridan's case it was an event of importance, for the 
day after his appointment as colonel, he was in the saddle and at the 
front, commanding more than his own regiment, and having under 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 183 

Halleck's orders, a splendid opportunity of beginning a soldier's larger 
life. How well he availed himself of this all the world knows. It is 
part of its current history. But even then, as always thereafter, it was 
Sheridan's unaided genius that carved for him name and fame. When 
he reached Grant, the golden gates of opportunity were held back so 
firmly by that man and soldier of calmest equipoise, patience, and cour- 
ageous trust, that his gallant and daring lieutenant was always able to 
dash through them unimpeded. 

General Sheridan in August, 1S64, was, though small in stature, a 
very model for a soldier. He was molded as if in bronze. Not an ounce 
of superfluous flesh was to be seen on that energetic frame. He bore in 
every line and motion the outward evidence of concentrated energy, 
while his face and head were the picture of vitalized mental power. 
Lincoln had looked into the little trooper's brain, and with that deep, 
penetrative, patient glance of his, had fathomed its capacity, and grown 
confident of its ability to succeed. The likeness in mold and line 
to Napoleon Bonaparte at Sheridan's age, was being generally com- 
mented upon. Stanton came to observe it later ; and after Sheridan's 
historic ride a little later, it is recorded that Mr. Stanton had in his room, 
on the marble mantel, a little book of about five hundred pages, 
which contained, as a frontispiece, a likeness of Napoleon ; and, says a 
writer in the Washington Star^ he took it, and, turning to the frontis- 
piece, handed it to the President, saying that there was a resemblance 
about the forehead and bust. Sometime prior to this, when our armies 
were being slaughtered by piecemeal, in Virginia, Mr. Stanton had 
received a letter from some prominent person calling his attention to 
a saying of Napoleon's that one commander for an army was better than 
two armies with independent commanders. " He then told me to get 
him this book on Napoleon from the library. They talked for sometime 
about General Sheridan, who had, several days before his Cedar Creek 
battle, defeated Early, and I heard Mr. Stanton then say to the Presi- 
dent that Grant and Sheridan would end the war very soon with such 
fighting." It was after and in connection with this saying of Napoleon's, 
that the President is reported as having said that one bad general was 
better than two sfood ones. 




mm 



O 




— o ^ 



Chapter XVI. 



IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 

SHERIDAN AS DEPARTMENT COMMANDER HIS FIRST CHANCE TO DEMONSTRATE 

HIS ABILITY TO COMMAND EARLY IS REINFORCED BY GORDON AND LOMAX 

THE APPEARANCE OF THE REBEL COMMANDER THE ARMY ROSTER SHER- 

IDAN's PREPARATIONS ATTACK AND PURSUIT THE STORY OF THE LOYAL 

qy AKERESS HOW HE GOT INTELLIGENCE ■^— THE BATTLE OF WINCHESTER — 

CAVALRY CHARGE AT OPEqUAN — VICTORIES OF FISHER's HILL AND CEDAR 
CREEK. 



After theMon- 
ocacy, Maryland, on 
the 4th of August, 
1S64, our troops 
"-=^ were rapidly mov- 
J ing south on the 
kibes of Early's 
army. Sheridan, on 
the loth instant, was 
ready to follow the 
veteran rebel com- 
niander to Stras- 
burg, whither he 
had fallen back. 

The confidence 
Sheridan inspired 
in Grant was re- 
warded by the lat- 

GEN. SHERIDAN'S HEADQUARTERS, ter's energetic efforts 

to prevent Lee's 

EAST SIDE OF CEDAR CREEK, AFTER THE BATTLE OF FISHER'S HILL. ^^ 

reinforcing Early, 
at least to a dangerous degree. On the 1 3th of August, Sheridan was in- 
formed from City Point via Washington, that two divisions of infantry, 
twenty guns, and a considerable force of cavalry under Gordon and 




i86 THE LIFE OF 

Lomax had been sent to Early by Lee. It arrived in time to prevent 
Sheridan attacking Early in his chosen position, thus greatly strength- 
ened. The position in Virginia could be likened to an irregularly 
formed triangle, the base of which was occupied by the Confederates 
under Lee, with the rebel capital to hold and guard. City Point with 
Grant and Meade's army might well be considered the most easterly 
point. Washington could be considered the northernmost point of 
our triangle. The irregular western side was formed of the Valley 
of the Shenandoah, contested by Sheridan and Early. In other words, 
the Union armies held the left flank entirely, were penetrating the 
centre as an occupying force, and contested the right flank (viewed 
from Washington) , so as to be ready to strike at the rebel rear from 
that direction. This was the purpose of Grant's plans, and by it he 
expected to smash their southwestern railroad communications at L3mch- 
burg. In order, then, to aid Sheridan, Grant gave orders to Meade to 
again threaten Richmond by another move to the north side of the 
James River. Hancock was placed in command with his own corps, 
part of the Ninth under Birney, and Gregg's cavalry division. They 
crossed on the night of the 13th. Sheridan was near Strasburg on the 
1 2th when Early had received his reinforcements. The movement on 
the James seriously threatened Lee, and effectually prevented the send- 
ing of more troops to Early. During these days of severe skirmishing, 
prisoners were captured belonging to a rebel division it had been sup- 
posed was in the valley. Of all this Sheridan was made aware. 
Grant's field movements lasted till the latter part of the month, and we 
retained as a I'esult our hold on the Weldon railroad. 

Sheridan, as the press dispatches of the period show, was not idle. 
The New York Tribune of the ist of August repeats an admirer's 
statement that " Sheridan is physically the smallest major-general I 
know, but he is mentally one of the largest." On the loth a valley 
telegram says: "General Sheridan has assumed command of all the 
troops in the field belonging to the Department of West Virginia, the 
Susquehanna, and defenses of Washington. His headquarters will be in 
the saddle." 

On the morning of the loth, the march up the Shenandoah Valley 
began. Early was supposed to be at Winchester. The army con- 
sisted of the Sixth Corps, the Nineteenth Corps, Crook's Kanawha 
Division of West Virginia, infantry ; and Averill's, Torbett's, and ^Vil- 
son's divisions of cavalry, which included among the brigade command- 
ers, Custer, Deven, and Wesley Merritt. Torbett's cavalry division 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 187 

under Davies was holding the roads and the country in the rear ; Tor- 
bett was serving as chief of cavah-y. The march was made in three 
columns, and the first halt was at Berryville, eleven miles east of 
Winchester. On the 13th the two armies were at Cedar Creek, " the 
enemy," says the current news dispatches, '' being sorely pressed by 
our advancing columns, who are harassing their rear and flanks. 
Early marched down the valley but a few hours in advance of Sheridan, 
and from our bivouacs at night you can see the rebel camp-fires." 
" Little Phil's" mettle was beginning to tell; his quality was raising 
the wora/d? of our own troops. On the 17th Sheridan's headqviarters 
were established at a farm-house on Cedar Creek, a locality which was 
so soon to be inseparably associated with his military renown. Skir- 
mishing and picket firing were frequent. Strasburg was taken and 
retaken several times. The reports of the 33d and 34th say " Sheridan 
is taking good care of Early," and tell of a biisk engagement between 
the advanced brigades of both armies, two miles beyond Charlestown, 
memorable as the place where Captain John Brown, of Kansas, was 
hung by the State of Virginia, on the 3d of December, 1859. In the 
engagement of the 34th, our skirmishers were compelled to give way, 
the enemy outnumbering us, and also occupying a very strong position. 

The latter, however, steadily, if slowly, was pressing the Confederates 
southward, becoming intimately familiar with the topography, condi- 
tions, and resources of the region over which he was to operate, strength- 
ening his rear and means of supply ; in fact, during this August month, 
Sheridan was proving himself as capable a general "in taking care," 
as he was already proven to be in forcing the fighting. Since the death 
of General Sheridan, in a notable review of his cai'eer, shaped and col- 
ored, it is evident, by Charles A. Dana, if not actually written by him, 
the New York Sun has said : 

"This necessarily took time, but time which the sequel showed had 
been well spent. 

"The government was filled with apprehension, the country was 
alarmed, not only at the deadlock which existed on the James, but at 
the danger which was now clearly menacing the national capital. The 
newspapers had become impatient, and asked with significant intensity, 
' Why doesn't Sheridan do something?' Stocks began to decline, and 
gold, already alarmingly high, to rise still higher, which showed with 
unmistakable certainty how anxiously the business men had come to 
regard the situation of military affairs. There was marching and coun- 
ter-marching ; an advance and a counter-advance ; then a demonstration 



i88 THE LIFE OF 

and a retreat from Winchester to Harper's Ferry, followed by louder 
mutterings of discontent, and a still higher rise in the price of gold. 
The President became uneasy, and wrote one of his wisest letters to 
Grant, who in turn began to doubt, and when he could stand it no 
longer he left the Army of the Potomac in its impregnable position 
facing Petersburg, and hurried through Washington to Harper's Ferry 
to see for himself why his lieutenant did not advance, and if need be to 
give him a plan of operations and to stay with him till it was in a fair 
way of execution. 

"It was believed then, and it afterward became certain, that Sheri- 
dan's army outnumbered that of his wily antagonist and was far better 
clad, armed, and supplied, and so men wondered why the dashing cav- 
alryman had grown so cautious, and the croakers went so far as to 
declare that Grant had made a grave mistake in putting him in com- 
mand of an army. 

" Thus six weeks of gloom and unhappiness passed over the country, 
but they were also six weeks of vigilance, careful study, and prepara- 
tion ; and when Grant, arriving on the ground, and considering the 
plan which he found to his joy the gallant Sheridan had matured, he 
stamped it with his approval in that laconic but all-sufficient order, 
' Go in !' There was no more deliberation or delay. Every detail had 
been worked out, every contingency had been prepared for, and the 
hour of action and of victory was at hand." 

In this wise, Sheridan's course put Early, on territory entirely famil- 
iar to him, almost wholly upon the defensive, for active attacks were 
only made to anticipate our unquestioned plans of advance. At the 
commencement of the serious work in the valley Sheridan's department 
and field forces were as follows : 

ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY OF THE SHENANDOAH IN THE 
MIDDLE MILITARY DIVISION, ON AUGUST 31, 1S64. 

Major-General Philip H. Sheridan, Commanding. 

GENERAL HEAUqUARTERS ESCORT, SIXTH UNITED STATES CAVALRY. 

CAVALRY FORCES. 
Brigadier-General Alfred T. A. Torbett, Commanding. 

FIRST DIVISION (ARMY OF THE POTOMAC CAVALRY.) 
Brigadier-General Wesley Merritt. 

First Brigade. — Brigadier-General George A. Custer : First Michigan ; 
Fifth Michigan ; Sixth Michigan ; Seventh Michigan. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 189 

Secoiid Brigade. — Colonel Thomas C. Deven : Fourth New York; Sixth 
New York; Ninth New York; Seventeenth Pennsylvania; First United Stales 
Artillery, Batteries K and L. 

Third Brigade.— Co\on^\ Charles R. Lowell, Jr. : First Maryland P. H. B. ; 
Second Massachusetts ; Twenty fifth New York. 

Reser-oe Brigade. — Colonel Alfred Gibbs : First New York Dragoons; Sixth 
Pennsylvania; First United States; Second United States; Fifth United States; 
Second United States Artillery, Battery D. 

THIRD DIVISION (ARMY OF THE POTOMAC CAVALRY.) 
Brigadier-General James H. Wilson. 

First Brigade. — Brigadier General J. B. Mcintosh : First Connecticut : 
Third New Jersey; Second New York; Fifth New York; Second Ohio; Eight- 
eenth Pennsylvania. 

Second Brigade. — - Brigadier-General G. H. Chapman : Third Indiana 
(detached); First New Hampshire; Eighth New York; Twenty-second New 
York; First Vermont. 

> Reserve Horse Artillery Brigade. — Captain La Rhett Livingston : First 
United States Artillery, Battery I; Second United States Artillery, Battery 
A; Second United States Artillery, Batteries B and C; Second United States 
Artillery, Battery M; Third United States Artillery, Battery C; Fourth United 
States Artillery, Batteries C and E. 

FIRST DIVISION (WEST VIRGINIA CAVALRY.) 
Brigadier-General Alfred N. Duffie. 

First Brigade. — Colonel William B. Tibbets : Second Maryland P. H. B., 
Company F; First New York (Lincoln); First New York Veteran; Twenty- 
first New York; Fourteenth Pennsylvania. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel John E. Wynkoop : Fifteenth New York ; Twen- 
tieth Pennsylvania; Twenty-second Pennsylvania. 

SECOND DIVISION (WEST VIRGINIA CAVALRY.) 

Brigadier-General William W. Averill. 

Eighth Ohio; First West Virginia ; Second West Virginia ; Third West Vir- 
ginia; Fifth West Virginia; Fifth United States Artillery, Battery L. 



SIXTH ARMY CORPS. 

Major-General Horatio G. Wright, Commanding. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General David A. Russell. 

First Brigade. — Colonel W. H. Penrose: Fourth New Jersey; Tenth New 
Jersey; Filteenth New Jersey. 



190 THE LIFE OF 

Second Brigade. — Brigadier-General Emorj Upton : Second Connecticut 
Heavy Artillery; Sixty-fifth New York; Sixty-seventh New York (detached) ; 
One Hundred and Twenty-first New York ; Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania ; Ninety- 
sixth Pennsylvania. 

Third Brigade. — Colonel Oliver Edwards : Seventh Massachusetts (de- 
tached) ; Tenth Massachusetts (detached) ; Thirty-seventh Massachusetts ; 
Twenty-third Pennsylvania (detached); Forty-ninth Pennsylvania; Eighty- 
second Pennsylvania; One Hundred and Nineteenth Pennsylvania; Second 
Rhode Island Battalion; Wisconsin Battalion. 

second division. 
Brigadier-General George W. Getty. 

First Brigade. — Brigadier-General Frank Wheaton : Sixty-second New 
York; Ninety-third Pennsylvania; Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania; One Hun- 
dred and Second Pennsylvania ; One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Pennsylvania. 

Second Brigade. — Brigadier-General Lewis A. Grant; Second \^ermont 
(detached); Third Vermont (detached); Fourth Vermont; Fifth Vermont; 
Sixth Vermont; Eleventh Vermont. 

Third Brigade. — Brigadier-General Daniel D. Bidwell : Seventh Maine; 
Fortv-third New York; Forty-ninth New York; Seventy-seventh New York; 
One Hundred and Twenty-second New York; Sixty-first Pennsylvania. 

THIRD DIVISION. 
Brigadier-General James B. Ricketts. 

First Brigade. — Colonel William Emerson: Fourteenth New Jersey; One 
Hundred and Sixth New York; One Hundred and Fifty-first New York; Eighty- 
seventh Pennsylvania; Tenth Vermont. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel J. Warren Keifer : Sixth Maryland; Ninth New- 
York Heavy Artillery; One Hundred and Tenth Ohio; One Hundred and 
Twenty-second Ohio; One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Ohio; Sixty-seventh 
Pennsylvania; One Hundred and Thirtj'-eighth Pennyslvania. 

ARTILLERY BRIGADE. 

Colonel Charles H. Tompkins. 

Maine Light Artillery, Fifth Battery; First Massachusetts Light Artillery, 
Battery A; Ne\y York Light Artillery, First Battery; First Rhode Island Light 
Artillery, Battery C; First Rhode Island Light Artillery, Battery G; Fifth 
United States, Battery M. 



NINETEENTH ARMY CORPS. 
Brigadier-General William H. Emory. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General William Dwight. 
First Brigade. — Colonel George L. Beal : Twenty-ninth Maine; Thirtieth 
Massachusetts; Ninetieth New York; One Hundred and Fourteenth New York; 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 191 

One Hundred and Sixteenth New York; One Hundred and Fiftv-third New 
York. 

Second Brigade. — Brigadier-General J. W. McMillan : Twelfth Connecticut; 
Thirteenth Maine; Fifteenth Maine; One Hundred and Sixtieth New York; 
Fortj-seventh Pennsylvania; Eighth Vermont. 

Third Brigade. — Colonel L. D. H. Currie : Thirtieth Maine; One Hundred 
and Thirty-third New York; One Hundred and Sixty-second New York ; One 
Hundred and Sixty-fifth New York; One Hundred and Seventy-third New 
York. 

Artillery.— 'i^tw York Light Artillery. Fifth Battery. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

First Brigade. — Brigadier-General Henry W. Birge : Ninth Connecticut; 
Twelfth Maine; Fourteenth Maine; Twenty-sixth Massachusetts; P^ourteenth 
New Hampshire ; Seventy-fifth New York. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel Edward L. Molineux : Thirteenth Connecticut ; 
Thi;-d Massachusetts Cavalry (dis.) ; Eleventh Indiana; Twenty-second 
Iowa ; One Hundred and Thirty-first New York ; One Hundred and Fifty-ninth 
New York. 

Third Brigade. — Colonel Jacob Sharpe : Thirtv-eighth Massachusetts; 
One Hundred and Twenth-eighth New York; One Hundred and Fifty-sixth 
New York; One Hundred and Seventy-fifth New York; One Hundred and 
Seventy-sixth New York. 

Fourth Brigade. — Colonel David Shunk : Eighth Indiana; Eighteenth 
Indiana; Twenty-fourth Iowa ; Twenty-eighth Iowa. 
Artillery. — Maine Light Artillery, First Battery. 

Feserve Artillery. — First Rhode Island Light Artillery, Batterj' D ; Indiana 
Light Artillery, Seventeenth Battery. 



ARMY OF WEST VIRGINIA. 

Brigadier-General George Crook, Commanding. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Colonel Joseph Hoburn. 

First Brigade. — Colonel George D- Wells: Thirty-fourth Massachusetts; 
Fifth New York Heavy Artillery (four companies) ; One Hundred and Sixteenth 
Ohio; One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel William G. Ely: Eighteenth Connecticut; Second 
Eastern Shore, Marj-land ; First West Virginia ; Fourth West Virginia ; Eleventh 
West Virginia; Fifteenth West Virginia. 

Third Brigade. — Colonel Jacob M. Campbell : Twenty-third Illinois ; Fifty- 
fourth Pennsylvania; Tenth West Virginia; Eleventh West Virginia; Fifteenth 
West Virginia. 



192 THE LIFE OF 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Colonel Isaac H. Duval. 

Firs.t Brigade. — Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes: Twenty-third Ohio; Thirty- 
sixth Ohio; Fifth West Virginia ; Thirteenth West Virginia. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel Daniel D. Johnson : Thirtj'-fourth Ohio; Ninety- 
first Ohio ; Ninth West Virginia; Fourteenth West Virginia. 



MILITARY DISTRICT OF HARPER'S FERRY. 

Brigadier-General John D. Stevenson. 

Cavalry. — Twelfth Pennsylvania; Virginia Rangers; Loudoun Independent 
Company'. 

Artillery. — Indiana Light Artillery, Seventeenth Battery; Kentucky Light 
Artillery, First Battery; Maryland Light Artillery, Battery A; Maryland Light 
Artillerj', Baltimore Battery ; Fifth New York Heavy Artillery ; NewYorkLight 
Artillery, Thirtieth Battery; New York Light Artillery, Thirty-second Battery; 
Ohio Light Artillery, First Battery; First Ohio Light Artillery, Battery L; 
First Pennsylvania Light Artillery, ■ Battery G ; First West Virginia Light 
Artillery, Battery A ; First West Virginia Light Artillery, Battery F. 

hifan/ry.— FW&t Maryland P. H. B. ; Second Maryland P. H. B. ; One Hun- 
dred and Thirty-fifth Ohio ; One Hundred and Sixtieth Ohio; One Hundred and 
Sixty-first Ohio. 



FORCES WEST OF SLEEPY CREEK. 

Brigadier-General Benjamin F. Kelley. 

Cavalry. — Ohio Third Independent Company; Sixth West Virginia. 
Artillery. — First Illinois, Battery L; First West Virginia, Battery H; First 
Maryland, Battery B. 

Itifafitry. — One Hundred and Twenty-second Ohio; Sixth West Virginia; 
One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Ohio. 



KANAWHA VALLEY FORCES. 

Brigadier-General Jeremiah C. Sullivan. 

Seventh West Virginia Cavalry; First Pennsylvania Light Artillery, Battery 
D; Pennsylvania Acting Engineers, Independent Company; Virginia Exempts, 
Independent Company A; Veteran Reserve Corps, One Hundred and Thirty- 
second Company, Second Battery; First West Virginia Light Artillery, Battery 
D; First West Virginia Light Artillery, Battery E ; Fifth United States Artil- 
lery, Batterj B. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 193 

Early in September, Grant determined on an immediate advance 
in the valley. He says in his j\Ie7noirs : 

"Knowing that it vv^as impossible for me to get orders through 
Washington to Sheridan to make a move because they w^ould be stopped 
there, and such orders as Halleck's caution (and that of the Secretary 
of War) vv^ould suggest, w^ould be given instead, and that they would, 
no doubt, be contradictory to mine, I therefore, without stopping at 
Washington, went directly through to Charlestown, some ten miles 
above Harper's Ferry, and waited there to see Sheridan, having sent a 
courier in advance to tell him where to meet me." 

The result of this meeting is pertinently summed up in Grant's 
order " Go in." The general tells the story of this famous interview 
in a letter quoted by Badeau : 

" When I visited Sheridan at Charlestown I had a plan of battle 
with me to give him, but I found him so ready to move — plan and all 
— that I gave him no order whatever, except the authority to move. 
He is entitled to all the credit of his great victory, and it established 
him in the confidence of the President and Secretary of War as a 
commander to be ti'usted in the management of the troops under him. 
Before that, while they highly appreciated him as a commander to exe- 
cute, they felt a little nervous about giving him too much discretion." 

The order suited the man and the occasion. It suited his troops. 
They did "go in" for victory. Grant had a map in his pocket, but 
before using it he asked if Sheridan had one. From his pocket came 
map and plan, anticipating, as was seen, all of the commanding gene- 
ral's ideas. Our troops were in front of Berryville on the turnpike 
leading from that town across the Opequan Creek to Winchester. 

Early was on the same road west of the ford of the Opequan, which 
is about four miles east of Winchester. In this wise he covered the 
town. Thinking that Sheridan would be on the offensive, Early had 
extended the bulk of his army, by his left, to Bunker Hill, leaving his 
right on the Berryville road, weak and isolated. 

The Confederate commander was described at the time as " a man 
past middle life and of vigorous and athletic appearance. His stature 
approached if it did not reach six feet, and he seemed to be capable of 
undergoing great fatigue. His hair was black and curling, and just 
touched with gray ; his eyes dark and sparkling, his smile ready and 
expressive, but somewhat sarcastic, as was the bent of his character. 
His dress was plain gray, with slight decoration ; long exposure had 
made the old coat which he wore quite dingy ; a wide-brimmed hat 
13 



194 THE LIFE OF 

overshadowed his sparkling eyes, his swarthy features, and grizzled 
hair ; his face, set upon a short neck joined to stooping shoulders, 
attracted attention from every one." 

The campaign actively began on the Union side by the issuing to 
General Torbett, who was chief of cavalry, of the following order : 

Headquarters Middle Military Division, ) 

Cedar Creek, Virginia, August i6, 1864. ) 
General : 

In compliance with instructions of the lieutenant-general command- 
ing, you will make the necessary arrangements and give the necessary 
orders for the destruction of the wheat and hay south of a line from 
Millwood to Winchester and Petticoat Gap. You will seize all mules, 
horses, and cattle that may be useful to our army. Loyal citizens can 
bring in their claims against the government for this necessary destruc- 
tion. No houses will be burned, and officers in charge of this delicate 
but necessary duty must inform the people that the object is to make 
the valley untenable for the raiding parties of the rebel army. 
Very respectfully, 

P. H. Sheridan, Major- General Commanding. 
Brig.-Gen. A. T. A. Torbett, Chief of Cavalry, Middle Military Division. 

The same day a cavalry engagement occurred at Front Royal 
between 3,000 Union cavalry under Merritt, and 3,500 Confederates, 
cavalry and infantry, which resulted in a Union victory. At this time 
Sheridan who was about to make a bold move directly to Early's rear, 
had watched him keenly, and when on the 8th, the Confederate leader 
sent half his army from Bunker Hill on a reconnaissance to Martins- 
burg (which Averill repulsed), he determined to "go in" at once, 
crush Early's weak right, and cut up the remainder of his force in 
detail. The Union forces were under arms that evening, and at 3 a. m. 
they were all in motion toward Winchester, Wilson's cavalry leading ; 
Wright's corps, the Sixth, followed in double columns, flanking the 
Berryville road, while its artillery and wagon train occupied that high- 
way. The Nineteenth Corps under General Emory followed in the 
same order. Early had pushed his largest force from Bunker Hill to 
Martinsburg on the extreme left. Sheridan designed to get his army 
across the Opequan and smash the weakened right wing of the rebels 
before aid could arrive. Crook, commanding the Eighth Corps, in 
position near Summit Point toward the left, was ordered to join the 
main army at the ford. Torbett and Averill, with their cavalry divis- 
ions, were left to make vigorous demonstrations on Early's left. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



19^ 




WHERE SHERIDAN CROSSED HIS 

ARMY BEFORE THE BATTLE 

OF WINCHESTER. 



At day- 
break Wil- 
son's caval- 
ry was over 
the O p e - 
quan and in 
possession 
o f a n a r - 
rovs^ mount- 
ain gorge 
or pass, 
through 
which alone 
our army 
could move. 
In this bril- 
liant sortie 
the cavalry 
swept all 

before them, till they secured a space 
within two miles of Winchester, suf- 
ficient for the deployment of our 
forces. The Sixth Corps followed 
sharply, but the Nineteenth was de- 
layed. So our line of battle was not 
o'clock on the morning of the 19th of September. 
Wright held the right, Wilson's cavalry extending 
on its flanks. Emory held the centre and left, and 
Crook's West Virginians were held as reserve. 

Early had been for hours hurrying his troops back from Bunker 
Hill. Sheridan was well posted as to his movements, but the delay of 
the Nineteenth Corps enabled the Confederate commander to get his 
entire force into a strongly fortified position, on a series of detached 
hills northwestward of the town. They had a powerful line thrown 
well forward for the purpose of breaking our lines by a vigorous charge, 
hoping thereby to seize the gorge ah"eady mentioned, through which 
alone if beaten, we might retreat. Early made the mistake of his mili- 
tary career in allowing us to obtain control of the gorge Wilson had 
seized. 

Averill had hung closely on the rebel rear from Bunker Hill, and 
now formed a junction on our left with Merritt's troopers. This pov.'- 



196 THE LIFE OF 

erful cavalry force enveloped Winchester on the east and north. Early's 
position gave a strong defensive capacity. Our cavalry gave Sheridan 
a great advantage, not one iota of which was neglected during the hot 
scenes of that fiercely contested field. Between the two positions, the 
ground was rugged, rising, and quite heavily wooded. Troops found 
it difiicult to move over it. The left and centre of Early's position 
seemed to be the only vulnerable ones. To reach them, the Union 
troops must pass through a narrow pass flanked by wooded hills. Un- 
der Sheridan's eager orders, Ricketts' division of the Sixth Corps was 
sent forward, followed immediately by a division of the Nineteenth, 
under Grover. Both commanders were old army ofiicers. The pass 
was gained. Amid a terrible storm of shell, Early's centre was charged 
in splendid style, and the first line of his work remained in our hands. 
General Rhodes, Confederate division commander, was slain in this 
charge, at the head of his troops. Early hurled heavy masses of fresh- 
troops upon our divisions, which fell back in disorder upon the narrow 
pass, from whence they had just before, at 10 a. m., so steadily emerged. 
A heavy flanking fire increased the rout, when Captain Rigby, a ser- 
geant, and twelve men of the Twenty-fourth Iowa, at a designated point 
turned on the pursuing foe, and by heroic efibrts were able to clear a 
space and gather a considerable force. Grover then ordered two guns 
of the First Maine Battery, Captain Bradbury commanding, into the 
gap. The fire checked the Confederate advance. The One Hundred 
and Thirty-first New York at the same time got into their rear and 
poured a destructive volley upon the foe, making them rapidly i-ecoil. 
A second volley sent them flying back to their positions. There was 
rapid rallying and re-formation of the Union lines, under Sheridan's 
eye, and again the two divisions advanced. The fighting was most 
desperate, charge and counter-charge, bayonet against battery, with 
varying fortune, until about four in the afternoon, when, with loud 
shouts, CrooJv's corps of West Virginians and Torbett's cavalry divis- 
ion swung superbly from the woods on the Union right, pressing for- 
ward in the face of a concentrated and murderous fire, and charged 
boldly on Early's left. The sight w^as inspiriting, and at once the Union 
lines moved solidly forward on the rebel right and centre. Wilson's 
cavalry swung in on the right flank, and without halting, continually 
charged the retreating Confederates, following them to their fortified 
heights. There was no halting there. " Forward," was the cry. In 
a few moments the heights were captured. Early's broken and con- 
fused columns fled in great disorder towards Strasburg. The victory 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 197 

was ours. The field was hotly, fiercely contested, and the result 
hung for hours in the wavering balances of war. They left in our 
hands 3,t^oo prisoners, nine battle-flags, and five pieces of artillery. 
It was not until long after dark that the pursuit ceased, and the stars 
shone over Sheridan's first victory in the Shenandoah Valley. The 
battle of Winchester was ours. The rebel wounded found in the 
town numbered 3,100. From his headquarters in Lloyd Logan's 
house, Sheridan sent Secretary Stanton a dispatch saying : 

" We have just sent the rebels whirling through Winchester, and 
are after them to-morrow." 

That was the key-note of all Sheridan's actions. This first thoroughly 
successful battle of the Union armies in the Valley of the Shenandoah 
was not only a signal illustration of the valor of our soldiers, as well as 
the boldness and skill of their commander, but it was evidence also of 
the value of the Union sentiment which still prevailed in the region. 

A competent critic has said since the general's death that : "The 
battle of the Opequan v/as fought with the precision of clock-work, 
and that was the first one of the war in which cavalry, artillery, and 
infantry were all used concurrently and to the best possible advantage, 
each according to its own nature and traditions. The overthrow^ of 
the enemy was absolute and complete. The country was electrified, 
and the shadow of gloom which had hung over it was dispelled as if by 
magic. Gold took such a tumble as it had not received since the out- 
break of the rebellion, and thenceforth no man of sense doubted the 
ultimate triumph of our arms, or the reestablishment of the Union." 

The story of Rebecca I. Wright, a young Qiiaker lady of Win- 
chester, has become of late familiar to the public. It will bear retelling. 
No soldier who entered Winchester on the night of September 19th, 
1S64, deserves more honor than the modest little Qiiaker maiden, through 
whose intelligence and courage Sheridan gained the information which 
warranted the movements he was making for crossing the Opequan. 
Here is the story as told in the press, and verified for this work from 
the official records : 

Miss Wright was the unmarried daughter of a Qiiaker family living 
in Winchester. Her old father had died a prisoner in Confederate 
hands. Her mother and little brother, with Miss Rebecca, constituted 
the family. The Union generals all knew their steadfast loyalty, and 
Crook especially trusted Miss Wright. She told the story during 
General Sheridan's sickness : 

" I was engaged in some household duties about noon on the i6th 



19B THE LIFE OF 

of SejDtember, '64. I was Interrupted by a knock at the door, and, on 
opening it, 1 found an intelligent looking colored man, who asked to 
see Miss Wright. There were two Misses Wright living in Winches- 
ter, and I asked which he wanted. 'Miss Rebecca,' he said; 'the 
other is in sympathy with the rebels.' He would not say what he 
wanted, but after looking about carefully, asked to be allowed to speak 
with me alone. I was impressed by his manner, and took him into 
another room. He at once closed the door, and I became alarmed, as 
my mother and I were alone in the house. But he immediately said he 
had a note from General Sheridan, who wanted me to give him all the 
information I could concerning the rebel forces. He took from his 
mouth a little wad of tinfoil, which proved to be a letter from Gen- 
eral Sheridan, written on tissue paper. The colored man said he had 
carried it all the way in his mouth, and had been instructed to swallow 
it if molested by the Confederate pickets. He was engaged in carrying 
provisions through the lines for the use of the town, and General 
Sheridan had secured his services in this matter. I was taken by sur- 
prise and did not know what to do. I did not know how far I could 
trust the man, fearing that there might be a trick to get me into trouble, 
and I told him tha't I knew nothing about the rebels. But the man 
spoke very intelligently and gave such evidences of earnestness that I 
concluded to trust him. While he was talking I was tearing the tinfoil. 
Don't, don't ! ' he said. ' You will need that to wrap the reply 



( ( ( 



" He said he would return at 3 o'clock. 

" After his departure I read the note. It was written on very thin, 
yellow tissue paper, which was greatly wrinkled and mussed from 
being folded so tightly." 

It is still preserved. "Miss Rebecca" is now Mrs. Bonsai, and 
lives in Washington. The framed letter reads as follows : 

September 15, 1864. 

I learn from Major-General Crook that you are a loyal lady and 
still love the old flag. 

Can you inform me of the position of Early's forces, the number of 
divisions in his army, and the strength of all or any of them, and his 
probable or reported intentions.^ Have any more troops arrived from 
Richmond, or are any more coming, or reported to be coming.? I am, 
ver}' respectfully, your obedient servant, P. H. Sheridan, 

JSIajor- Genera/ Connuandhig. 

You can trust the bearer. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 199 

"After reading the letter, I went at once to my mother and told her 
what had occurred. We were almost overpowered by the thought of the 
great danger we were in, but we concluded to run the risk. 

"If it had not been for an accident, that seems to have been provi- 
dential, I should have known nothing to tell General Sheridan that 
would have been of value to him. As it happened, I did not know 
how valuable the information I possessed might be. Mv mother and I 
were known to be loyal, and the Confederates had very little to do with 
us, so we knew nothing of them or of "what was going on. But a Con- 
federate officer, who had been wounded and was then convalescent, 
was boarding with one of our neighbors. As a convalescent, he wan- 
dered about at will, and knew all about the strength and movements, 
the dangers, the hopes, and the fears of Early's forces. It happened that 
just two evenings before I got General Sheridan's letter, or before I had 
any thought of serving him or the Union cause, this young Confederate 
asked permission to call on me. He had often observed me from his 
window arranging or gathering my flowers, and he was lonely and 
sought my company. So it chanced that two evenings before I got the 
note the ofliicer was at our house. We were strangers, with nothing in 
common to talk about, so this conversation turned upon the war, and 
more especially the state of affairs directly about us. He described 
the situation from his stand-point — how many troops they had and 
what they must rely on. I asked questions without any purpose except 
to keep up the conversation, and he answered freely. I had no idea of 
what importance all this was, or that it would ever come of use to me, 
but when I read General Sheridan's letter it at once occurred to me that 
I could tell him what the Confederate had told me. 

" When the colored man returned I gave him an answer to the gen- 
eral's letter, telling the number of troops, their situation, and the fact 
that some had been called oft' for service elsewhere. I told him, in 
fact, the very things, as I see now, that he most wanted to know : but 
I expressed regret that I could not give more information, and said I 
would try to gather more for him if he would send the messenger back 
in a day or two. 

"The colored man put the letter in his mouth and left the house 
quietly. Many times during the next day, Saturday, and the quiet Sab- 
bath that followed, I wondered what had become of the messenger, and 
what would result from my note. 

" When I was awakened Monday morning by the booming of can- 
non my first thought was whether my note had an-s'thing to do with it. 



200 THE LIFE OF 

It was a terrible fight, and in the afternoon, when the streets were filled 
with troops, wagons, cannon, and the poor suffering wounded, and the 
buildings were on fire all around us, my mother asked me, with tears in 
her eyes, if I thought my note had anything to do with this battle. I 
had thought of that all day, and I was overwhelmed. I hid my face in 
my hands, and cried : ' O ! no, no ! I don't believe he got it.' It was 
the most terrible day of all m}^ experience. Houses about us were on 
fire, our own fence was burning, and shells fell so near that my mother 
and I went into the cellar for safety. Finally the rumbling of battle 
grew fainter and fainter, until it got so quiet I could not endure to 
remain in the cellar in ignorance of the result. From the first floor I 
could see nothing ; nothing from the second floor ; but from the garret 
windows I saw the old American flag coming in the town. I dropped 
upon my knees. I soon learned whether my note had to do with the 
battle. 

" Hearing sabres clattering against the steps, I started to the front 
door, and met two Union officers, already inside the house. One intro- 
duced himself as General Sheridan. He told me that it was entirely 
from the information I had sent him that he fought the battle, and he 
thanked me earnestly, saying he would never forget my courage and 
patriotism. I was so fearful of suspicion that I would hardly permit 
him to speak to me. I knew that should the southern people discover 
the part I had in the battle, my life would not be worth much, and I 
was afraid to have the general talk to me. I begged him not to speak 
of it ; that my life would be in danger when the Federal troops went 
away. General Sheridan replied that the Confederates would never 
come again. He wrote his report at my desk, and called in the morn- 
ing to say good-bye before following Early to Fisher's. 

" He rode a beautiful black horse that morning. I lived on quietly 
at Winchester until 1S67, and no one suspected me. They knew 
nothing of the matter until the watch arrived, accompanied by a letter 
from General Sheridan. Then the Union people gathered around me 
in astonishment. I remember an old man who took both my hands in 
his and said: ' Why my little girl, there was not a man in the place 
who would have dared do such a thing. As much as I loved the 
Union I would not have had the courage.' Most of the community 
were wild with indignation, but the war was over and they could do 
me no injury. But they showed their dislike for me in many ways. 
The boys used to spit at me on the street. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



20 1 



" I had no conception of the service I had done until I received this 
letter : 

"Headquarters Department of Gulf, 
New Orleans, Jan. 7, 1S67. 

" My Dear Miss Wright : You are probably not aw^are of the ser- 
vice you rendered the Union cause by the information you sent nie by 
the colored man a few days before the Opequan, on September 19, 
1864. It was on this information the battle was fought and probably 
won. The colored man gave the note rolled up in tinfoil to the scout, 
who awaited him at Millwood. The colored man had carried it in his 
mouth to that point and delivered it to the scout, who brought it to me. 

" By this note I became aware of the true condition of affairs inside 
of the enemy's lines, and gave directions for the attack. I will always 
remember this courageous and patriotic action of yours with gratitude, 
and beg you to accept the v\^atch and chain which I send you by General 
J. W. Forsyth, as a memento of September 19, 1S64." 

This letter is put in a double frame, so as to show the writing on 
both sides. On the back of it is an indorsement by General Grant, in 
his own hand, asking 
an appointment for 
(then) Miss Wright 
to a position in the 
Treasury Depart- 
ment. A report was 
also made by a com- 
mittee of Congress 
and ordered printed. 
While in the Treas- 
ury she met and mar- 
ried Mr. Bonsai. 

The watch, a 
handsome one of 
gold, bears the in- 
scription : " Presen- 
ted to Rebecca I. 
Wright, September 
19, 1S67, by General 
Phil H. Sheridan. 
A memento of Sep- 
tember 19, 1S64." 
It is attached to a 




MRS. McP. BONSAL, 



FORMERLY MISS WRIGHT, UPON WHOSE INFORMATION SHERIDAN 
FOUGHT THE BATTLE OF WINCHESTER. 



202 THE LIFE OF 

long gold chain, fostened at the neck with a clasp representing a horse- 
shoe, a military gaiuitlet, and stirrups. Hanging to a short end is a 
sword, a key, and a seal. !Mrs. Bonsai is a lady of fifty, but she appears 
ten or fifteen years younger. Her manner is quiet, and her face expresses 
amiability and all the gentler wonianl}- qualities. 

Early was both early and late on the way from Sheridan's cavalry. 
His flight was not stopped until the Confederate forces reached Fisher's 
Hill, beyond Strasburg. Here they occupied a very strong position, 
previously prepared for an emergency. Sheridan kept the promise 
made in his dispatches " to be after the foe earl}- in the morning." 
His cavalrv was moving towards Strasburg by daybreak. The 
whole army was soon cr. route, full of that electric fervor of vic- 
tory which makes the soldier forget tatigue and wounds, and causes 
him to feel as if the world was akin to his mood, beating in rhythmic 
iubilance with the passion of triumph wherewith he is animated. 

Our army was in front of Fisher's Hill on the early forenoon of the 
22d. Earlv was found intrenched stronglv in a defensible position, 
with his left resting on the adjacent North Mountain. But Sheridan 
never hesitated. Torbett, with two divisions of cavalry, was sent by 
way of tlie Luray Vallev, to take Newmarket, thirty miles in Early's 
rear. The Eighth Corps, under his old classmate. General Ci'ook.was 
sent to gain the rear and left of Early's lines, beyond the North Mount- 
ain, with the Sixth and Nineteenth corps, commanded by Wright and 
Emory, screened by tlie cavalr}' under Averill. Sheridan, at 4 p. m., 
impetuously advanced to a general attack. The weight of the attack 
was made, front and rear, on Early's left. It gave way almost im- 
mediately, driven in upon the centre by the weight of the impetuous 
assault. The North ^Mountain was cleared at once. When the advanc- 
ing lines were swiftly precipitated on Early's centre, the whole of the 
rebel infantry broke, and retreated down the valley in great disorder, 
leaving sixteen guns and a thousand prisoners in our hands. The vic- 
tor}' was complete. AH that saved Earl3*'s army from entire destruc- 
tion as an organization, was the stubborn fight made against Torbett, 
at Milford, in the Lurav Vallev, bv the Confederate .cavalry under 
General Wickham, who at Front Roval the day before (September 
2 1 St), had fought Wilson most vigorouslv. Torbett was held all day 
in check at Milford, finally at sundown driving Wickham before him. 
Front Royal was a draw. Both were splendid and well-matched cav- 
alrv battles, in which the advantages finallv rested with us, but the 
stubborn fighting of the Confederate troopers saved their army never- 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 203 

theless. General Wickham afterwards served in the United States 
Senate from Virginia as a Republican. 

Sheridan pursued Early, as Grant desired and his own wishes dic- 
tated. He overtook them at Port Republic, charging their broken 
lines with his cavalry, backed by infantry supports, and drove them 
again, destroying their supply train of seventy-five wagons. Our 
cavalry continued the pursuit until Early's army found shelter in the 
passes of the Blue Ridge. A large quantity of army stores were 
destroyed at Staunton. From that point, our cavalry passing on to 
Waynesboro', laid waste the Virginia Central railroad, destroying it 
utterly for several miles. A large Confederate tannery was also burned. 

Then came the execution of Grant's order to leave nothing in the 
valley to invite the return of the enemy. All our cavalry was recalled 
to Sheridan's headquarters, and down the valley went the Union army, 
destroying all supplies as they moved. 

When this serious but necessary work was completed, our entire 
force was placed behind Cedar Creek, " twenty miles away " from 
Winchester, between Middletown and Strasburg. Field headquarters 
were established at the residence of Benjamin B. Cooley. 

Sheridan's dispatches at this period tell the man as much as his acts 
proclaim the soldier. In a report on the raid following the victory of 
Fisher's Hill, Sheridan wrote : 

" In moving back to this point the whole country from tlae Blue 
Ridge to the North Moimtain has been made untenable for a rebel 
army. I have destroyed over two thousand barns filled with w^heat, 
hay, and farming implements, and over seventy mills filled with flour 
and wheat, have driven in front of this army over four thousand head 
of stock, and have killed and issued to the troops over three thousand 
sheep. Since I entered the valley from Harper's Ferry, every train, 
every small party, and every straggler has been bushwhacked by the 
people, many of whom have protection papers. Lieutenant Meigs 
and his engineer officer were murdered near Dayton ; . . . for this 
atrocious act," continued Sheridan, •' all the houses within an area of 
five miles w^ere burned." Badeau, in the Military Life of Grants 
says : 

" Sheridan's telegrams during this campaign were handed to Grant 
usually as we sat around the camp-fire at City Point. No success had 
cheered him at the East for months, and the first gleams of light came 
from Sheridan's victories in the valley. As Grant read out these 
ringing dispatches: ' We sent them whirling through Winchester' ; 



204 GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 

' They were followed on a jump twenty-six miles ' ; ' I thought I best 
delay here one day and settle this new cavalry general,' (referring to 
Rosser), his voice betrayed how welcome was the news. ' Keep on,' 
he replied, ' and your good work will cause the fall of Richmond.' " 

Sheridan writes from Strasburg : " The people here [in the val- 
ley] are getting sick of the war." He wrote also : " I'm coming back 
to this point." As he moved down the valley after the raid, Sheridan 
reported : "I was not followed until late yesterday, when a large force 
of cavalry appeared in my rear. I then halted my command to give 
battle. I found it was only the rebel cavalry commanded by Rosser, 
and directed Torbett to attack them and finish this new ' saviour of the 
valley.' " And he did it so effectually that Rosser has ever since been 
explaining why he was so thoroughly thrashed. Honors and recognition 
were showered upon Sheridan after Winchester and Fisher's Hill. 
Congress passed a resolution of thanks at its next session for the Valley 
Campaign. The victorious general was made a brigadier-general in 
the regular army. 

Torbett's fight with Rosser occurred on the 9th of October. At 
the first charge the Confederates broke and fled, leaving over three 
hundred prisoners, a dozen guns, and nearly fifty wagons in our hands. 
They were chased twenty-six miles. 

Three days later Early attempted to surprise Sheridan, who had 
halted near Fisher's Hill. This time the Confederates were so severely 
chastised that it was supposed they would remain quiet for some time. 
With that impression, Sheridan went to Washington on official busi- 
ness, leaving General Wright in temporary command of the army. 




Chapter XVII. 



SNATCHING VICTORY FROM THE JAWS 
OF DEFEAT. 

Lincoln's little story about general cass — change of the troops 
meddling at washington with grant's orders wright sur- 
prised at cedar creek — rout of the nineteenth corps — sheri- 
dan's ride " to save the day " defeats early and gordon what 

he said of his victory' — thanks of president and congress — pro- 
motion in the regular army — the horse he rode. 

Considerable anxiety had prevailed in Washington during the lat- 
ter of Sheridan's operations. He had got beyond telegraphic commu- 
nication. The War Department feared for the capital. Halleck feared 
that the little soldier might seriously propose to end the w^ar otherwise 
than according to Jomini, as translated by "Old Brains," while the 
President grew anxious for Sheridan's safety. None of them knew the 
man — he was a fighting soldier, who did his "job" with the same 
persistent determination that he would have bossed a railroad contract. 
Mr. Lincoln, of course, had a story to tell. He was afraid that Sheri- 
dan's hot pursuit had been a little like that of General Cass, in one of 
our Indian wars. Cass was pursuing the Indians so closely, that the 
first thing he knew he found himself in their front and the Indians 
were pursuing him. Sheridan might have got on the other side of 
Early. Mr. Lincoln feared that Early was behind him. Reinforce- 
ments might be sent out from Richmond to enable Early to meet 
and beat him. Grant says: "I replied to the President that I had 
taken steps to prevent Lee from sending reinforcements to Early by 
attacking the former where he was." 

Sheridan had driven the enemy out of the valley and destroyed 
everything, so that if Early came back he would have to bring his 
provisions with him. It was in announcing this that he used the apt 
illustration already quoted, of the crow being compelled to carry its 
rations. He felt, therefore, he did not need so large a force, and sent to 



2o6 THE LIFE OF 

Grant, asking him to take some and put them where they were needed 
more. This Grant did. The Sixth Corps was ordered to the James 
River. Sheridan then repaii^ed the raih'oad up the valley toward the 
advanced position which he believed could be held \vith a small force. 
Troops were sent to Washington, by way of Culpepper, in order to 
watch the east side of the Blue Ridge, and prevent the enemy from 
getting into the rear of Sheridan, while he was still doing his work of 
destruction. 

On the loth of October, the march down the valley was again 
resumed ; Early, at a very respectful distance, slowly following. 
Sheridan was ordered, however, to halt by Grant, and to improve the 
opportunitv, if afforded by the enemy's having been sufficiently weak- 
ened, to move back again if possible and cut the James River canal 
and the Virginia Central railroad. This order had to go through 
Washington, where it was intercepted, and when Sheridan received 
what seemed to be a statement of what Grant wished him to do, it 
w^as something entirely different. Halleck informed Sheridan that it 
was Grant's wish for him to liold a forward position, as a base from 
which to act against Charlottesville and Gordonsville, and that he 
should fortify and provision this position. Sheridan objected most 
decidedly. Grant then telegraphed him on the 14th of October, as 
follows : 

Major-Gexeral Sheridan : 

What I want, is for you to threaten the Virginia Central rail- 
road and the James River canal, in the manner your judgment tells 
you is best, holding yourself ready to advance, if the enemy draw off 
their forces. If you make the enemy hold a force equal to your own 
for the protection of those roads, it will accomplish nearly as much as 
their destruction. If you cannot do this, then the next best thing to do 
is to send here all the force you can. I deem a good cavalry foixe nec- 
essary for your offensive, as well as your defensive operations. You 
need not, therefore, send more than one division of cavalry. 

U. S. Grant. 

Sheridan was at Winchester, having returned the night before from 
Washington. Upon the forenoon of the 19th of October, on his way 
to his headquarters, he learned from the sti-eam of stragglers, the news 
of the attack by Early on his lines at Cedar Creek, and the partial 
rout of his armv that was then in progress. The story has been told 
bv many pens, but the most compact account is that printed in White- 
law Reid's volume, Ohio in the War. It is so clear and direct, yet 
comprehensive, that it is given here in full : 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 207 

"On the night of the iSth of October, while Sheridan was 
approaching Winchester, on his return, Early and Longstreet were 
stealthily moving out from Fisher's Hill. So careful and minute were 
their arrangements for silence on the march, that they even took away 
the canteens from their men, lest their rattle against the bayonet-sheaths 
or cartridge-boxes should be heard. Wright, as we have seen, was 
apprehensive about his right flank. His disposition of the entire 
cavaliy there showed it, and the enemy at once profited by the dis- 
closure. They moved rapidly to the opposite flank. Here the front 
was scai'cely protected at all. The exultant army that had followed 
the rebels ' whirling up the valley ' was utterly incredulous as to the 
possibility of attack. They slept, officers and men, the deep slumber 
of absolute confidence. Pickets were advanced but a short distance 
from the camp — so short a distance that the rebel column crept around 
them within six hundred yards of the main line. Some pickets did 
report the sound of marching in the darkness on their front, and Gen- 
eral Crook ordered men into the trenches ; but this report failed to 
arouse much apprehension, and they neglected to send out a reconnais- 
sance. The front line was broken here and there by regiments sent 
out for picket duty — even these gaps wei^e unfilled. 

"The dawn was obscured by fog. Through this suddenly came 
bursting the wild charging yells of the rebel infantry — not Early's 
often beaten troops alone, but the flower of the Army of Northern 
Virginia. The extremity of Crook's line, taken thus by surprise in 
flank and rear, was doubled up in confusion, precisely as, a few weeks 
before, Crook had himself doubled up Early's flank at Fisher's Hill. 
The enemy was into the trenches before all the muskets of the defend- 
ers were loaded ; the movement was quick, orderly, forceful on the 
part of the assailants — hesitating and bewildered on the part of the 
confused troops thus rudely awaked from their dreams of security. In 
fifteen minutes the struggle was practically over. The rebels, knowing 
perfectly their ground, and knowing, moreover, precisely what they 
wanted to do, drove forward their charging columns with a rapidity 
that to the surprised army seemed amazing. The Nineteenth Corps 
next gave way ; next, only a little more slowly, the Sixth. Long be- 
fore this the tide of runaways had swept down the pike as far as Win- 
chester, twenty miles away. The camps were abandoned, twenty-four 
pieces of artillery were lost, and the whole army was in full retreat on 
Winchester. Nearly five miles down the valley it began to come 
together, and General Wright essayed the formation of a defensive line. 



2o8 THE LIFE OF 

He "was presently interrupted by his chief, who ' here took the matter 
in hand.' 

" General Sheridan had arrived at Winchester the night before, on 
his wa}' back from the consultation at Washington, to which he had 
been ordered. In the morning artillery firing was heard, but it was 
attributed to an intended reconnaissance, and nothing was thought of it. 
After an early breakfast Sheridan mounted and trotted quietly through 
Winchester, southward. A mile froni the town the first fugitives from 
the lost field were encountered. He instantly gave orders to park the 
retreating trains on either side of the road, directed the greater part of 
his escort to follow as best it could, then, with only twenty cavalrymen 
accompanying him, he struck out in a swinging gallop for the scene of 
danger. As he dashed up the pike the crowds of stragglers grew 
thicker. He reproached none ; only, swinging his cap, with a cheeiy 
smile for all, he shouted : ' Face the other way, boys ; face the other 
way ! We are going back to our camps ! We are going to lick them 
out of their boots ! ' The wounded raised their hoarse voices to cheer 
as he passed, and the masses of fugitives turned and followed him to 
the front. As he rode into the forming lines, the men quickened their 
pace back to the ranks, and everywhere glad cheers went up. ' Boys, 
this never should have happened if I had been here.' he exclaimed to 
one and another regiment, ' I tell you it never should have happened. 
And now we are going back to our camps. We are going to get a 
twist on them ; we'll get the tightest twist on them yet that ever you 
saw. We'll have all those camps and cannon back again.' Thus he 
rode along the lines, rectified the formation, cheered and animated the 
soldiers. Presently there grew up across that pike as compact a body 
of infantiy and cavalry as that which, a month before, had sent the 
enemy 'whirling through Winchester.' His men had full faith in "the 
twist' he was ' going to get ' on the victorious foe; his presence was 
inspiration ; his commands were victory. 

" While the line was thus being reestablished, he was in momentary 
expectation of attack. Wright's Sixth Corps was some distance in 
the rear. One staft' officer after another was sent after it. Finally 
Sheridan himself dashed down to hurry it up ; then back to watch 
it going into position. As he thus stood, looking oft' from the left, he 
saw the enemy's columns once more moving up. Hurried \\arning 
was sent to the Nineteenth Corps, on which it was evident the attack 
would fall. By this time it was after 3 o'clock. 

" The Nineteenth Corps, no longer taken by surprise, repulsed the 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



209 




THE STONE BRIDGE AT FISHER'S HILL, 

WHERE, ON SHERIDAN S RALLYING THE UNION ARMY, OCTOBER 19, 1864, A LARGE BODY OF 
CONFEDERATE PRISONERS WAS TAKEN. 

enemy's onset. ' Thank God for that,' said Sheridan gayly. ' Now 
tell General Emory if they attack him again to go after them and to 
follow them up. We'll get the tightest twist on them pretty soon they 
ever saw.' The men heard and believed him ; the demoralization of 
defeat was gone. But he still waited. Word had been sent in from the 
cavalry, of danger from a heavy body moving on his flank. He doubted 
it, and at last determined to run the risk. At 4 o'clock the orders went 
out: '• The whole line will advance. The Nineteenth Corps will move 
in connection with the Sixth. The right of the Nineteenth will swing 
toward the left.' 

'' The enemy lay behind stone fences, and where these failed, breast- 
works of rails eked out his line. For a little he held his position firmly. 
14 



2IO THE LIFE OF 

His left overlapped Sheridan's right and seeing this advantage he bent it 
down to i-enew the attack in flank. At this critical moment Sheridan 
ordered a charge of General McWilliams' brigade against the angle 
thus caused in the rebel line. It forced its way through, and the rebel 
flanking partv was cut oft'. Custer's cavalry was sent swooping down 
upon it. It broke, and fled or surrendered, according to the agility of 
the individuals. Simultaneously the whole line charged along the 
front ; the rebel line was crowded back to the creek ; the difficulties of 
the crossing embarrassed it, and as the victorious ranks swept up it 
broke in utter confusion. 

" Custer charged down in the fast gathering darkness to the west 
of the pike, Deven to the east of it, and on either flank of the fleeing 
rout they flung themselves. Nearly all the rebel transportation was 
captured, the camps and artillery were regained ; up to Fisher's Hill 
the road was jammed with artillery, caissons, and ambulances ; prisoners 
came streaming back faster than the provost marshal could provide for 
them. It was the end of Early's army ; the end of campaigning in 
the beautiful Valley of the Shenandoah." 

The scenes were startling, amusing, pathetic, humorous, and heroic, 
— all combined. Custer threw his arms around Sheridan's neck, as he 
rode up, and kissed him in the face of the army., " Little Phil " was 
the supreme incarnation of war. Some of his oaths were more pictur- 
esque than those of Homer's heroes. Men shouted, ran, screamed, and 
cried, as he came thundering along the pike with waving flag over his 
head. The Honorable A. F. Walker, of the Inter-state Commerce Com- 
mission, has given to our war literature an admirable little volume on 
the history of the Vermont brigade with which he served. They were 
at Cedar Creek. The brigade, says Mr. Walker, while sulkily waiting 
for the re-formation of the army, "heard cheers behind us on the pike. 
We were astounded. There we stood, driven four miles already, 
quietly waiting for what might be further and immediate disaster, while 
far in the rear we heard the stragglers and hospital bummers and the 
gunless artillery-men, actually cheering as though a victor}'^ had been 
won. We could hardly believe our ears." , 

The explanation soon came, horse and man, but four miles away 
from the battle-field. " As the sturdy, fiery Sheridan, on his sturdy, 
fiery steed, flecked with foam from his two hours' mad galloping, 
wheeled from the pike and dashed down the line, our division also 
broke forth into the most tumultuous applause. .... 

" Such a scene as his presence produced, and such emotions as it 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 211 

awoke, cannot be realized once in a century. All outward manifesta- 
tions were as enthusiastic as men are capable of exhibiting ; cheers 
seemed to come from throats of brass, and caps were thrown to the tops 
of the scattering oaks ; but beneath and yet superior to these noisy 
demonstrations, there was in every heart a revulsion of feeling and a 
pressure of emotion beyond description. No more doubt or chance 
for doubt existed ; we were safe, perfectly and unconditionally safe, 
and every man knew it." 

" Forward " was at once the order. Mr. Walker's account is at least 
animating. He says : 

" At the commencement of its advance, the brigade met a shallow 
mill-pond that had not been noticed in the forest, in some way floundered 
through, rushed up the hill to the rebel works, then turned to the left, 
and in a confused, delirious mass, hurried on as best it might after the 
scattering enemy. Guns were fired wildly into the air, and reloaded as 
the soldiers ran ; captured cannon were wheeled about and discharged at 
the panic-stricken foe in mad salute for our victory. General Sheridan, 
with long black streamers waving from his hat, joined our division, ex- 
claiming, ' Run, boys, run ; don't wait to form ; don't let 'em stop ' ; and 
when some one answered, ' We can't run, we're tired out,' his reply was 
perhaps unmilitary, but certainly, under the circumstances, judicious : 
' If you can't run then holler,' and thus the wild pursuit was continued 
until we reached the turnpike wdiere it crosses the very summit of 
Fisher's Hill. 

" The defeat was utter and decisive, so far as the Shenandoah Valley 
was concerned. Its secret was simply Sheridan's personal magnetism 
and all-conquering energy. He felt no doubt, he would submit to no 
defeat, and he took his army with him as on a whirlwind." 

Colonel Herbert E. Hill, of Somerville, went all through the Shen- 
andoah Valley Campaign of General Sheridan, and was close by " Gal- 
lant Phil" at the battle of Cedar Creek, made famous by Sheridan's 
memorable ride from Winchester to the relief of his routed army. 
Colonel Hill has written several articles upon the Shenandoah Valley 
Campaign, and as some of his statements were disputed he appealed to 
Sheridan for the confirmation of his stories. He received in reply two 
dispatches, which are of great historical interest, as they settle forever 
some mooted points. Some have even seen fit to question whether 
there ever was such a thing as his ride from Winchester. Historians 
have disputed each other regarding the time when he arrived, the horse 
he rode, the number of guns captured, etc. These points are all settled 



212 THE LIFE OF 

by the man who knew the most about the matter, and they corrob- 
orate Colonel Hill's accovmts in every particular. Here are copies of 
the dispatches in question : 

Chicago, Oct. 17, 1S81. 
Colonel Herbert E. Hill, Boston, Mass. : 

Between 6 and 7 o'clock on Monday, October 19th, the officer on 
picket at Winchester reported to me, while I was in bed at the house 
of Colonel Edwards, the commanding officer, the sound of scattering 
artillery shots. These I supposed to be made by Grover's division of 
the Nineteenth Corps, which was to have made a reconnaissance that 
morning. My black horse " Winchester" was saddled, as well as the 
horses of my staff officers, and we started about S o'clock, passing 
through the main street of Winchester. 

On reaching the southern suburbs of the town the sound of artil- 
lery indicated a battle to me unmistakably. We walked leisurely until 
w^e reached Mill Creek, half. a mile or so froin the town, trying to 
determine by the sound whether the firing was coming toward us or 
receding, and after crossing Mill Creek and rising a little bluff on the 
south side saw the heads of the troops retreating, coming rapidly to 
the rear. I at once ordered a halt, directing that the train be stopped 
and parked at Mill Creek, and sent orders that the brigade in garrison 
at Winchester be stretched across the country and all stragglers 
stopped. 

Then taking twenty men from the escort I rode rapidly on, as 
nearly parallel to the valley pike as the crowd of stragglers would per- 
mit, until I struck Getty's division of the Sixth Corps, three-quarters 
of a mile north of Middletown, reaching there a little before 10 
o'clock, A. M. I rode my black horse, " Winchester," until just before 
the final attack at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when I changed to my 
gray horse, which I rode until the battle was over. 

P. H. Sheridan, 
Lieutenant- General United States Army. 

Chicago, Oct. iS, 18S1. 
Colonel Herbert E. Hill, Boston, Mass. 

The enemy captured from our troops in the morning twenty-four 
. pieces of artillery. These were recaptured and twenty-four more from 
the enemy in the afternoon, making forty-eight pieces. Ten battle- 
flags were also captured from the enemy. The black horse, "Win- 
chester," died October 2, 1S78, and is set up on exhibition at the Mili- 
tary Institute, Governor's Island. The gray horse was burned up in 
the Chicago fire, October 9, 1871. 

P. H. Sheridan, 
Lieutenant- Genet'al United States Army. 

Colonel Hill has preserved these dispatches and some autograph 
letters from General Sheridan with the greatest care. The Eighth 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 213 

Vermont Regiment, of which Colonel Hill was a member, was in the 
brunt of the fight at Cedar Creek. When Sheridan arrived from Win- 
chester he found his army disorganized and presenting only a division 
front to the enemy. The divisions were ranged back and to one side 
of each other in echelon^ as it is termed in military parlance, a form 
which is best represented by the steps of a staircase. He immediately 
ordered the rear division to the front, and presented an unbroken line to 
the attack of the enemy. The Eighth Vermont was on the right of 
their line, and here wSheridan took up his position. This regiment 
suffered as no other in the army. Out of 164 men who went into 
action, no were lost by death or wounds; thirteen out of sixteen 
commissioned officers were killed, three color-bearers were shot dead, 
and a fourth afterwards died of his wounds. For their conspicuous 
gallantry, Sheridan wrote them a letter of thanks over his own sig- 
nature. 

The only monuments which have been erected upon the battle-fields 
in the Shenandoah Valley were set up to mark the spot where this regi- 
ment fought, and they were both the gifts of Colonel Hill. 

"The great secret of Sheridan's strength and popularity with his 
men," according to the colonel, " was that he never ordered his men to 
go where he would not lead them. He was pei^fectly fearless, and they 
had perfect confidence in him and would follow him into the jaws of 
death. He was said to be a profane man, but it only showed his 
earnestness, and was more in the nature of an invocation to the Deity 
than profanity. He had a thorough plan for every battle, and his men 
soon learned to appreciate and see the importance of every movement 
as bearing on the whole scheme of the fight. When he appeared on 
the field after his great ride he appeared to the enemy, to use a scriptural 
expression, like a great light in a dark valley." 

General Sheridan, speaking of the Valley Campaign and of the 
battle and victory at Cedar Creek, said : 

" This battle [Cedar Creek] practically ended the campaign in the 
Shenandoah Valley. When it opened we found our enemy boastful and 
confident, unwilling to acknowledge that the soldiers of the Union were 
their equals in courage and manliness. When it closed with Cedar 
Creek, this impression had been removed from his mind, and g&ve 
place to good sense and a strong desire to quit fighting. The very best 
troops of the Confederacy had not only been defeated, but had been 
routed in successive engagements until their spirit was destroyed. In 
obtaining these results, however, our loss in officers and men was 



214 THE LIFE OF 

severe. Practically all territory north of the James Riyer now belong^ed 
to us, ami the holding of the lines about Petersburg and Richmond 
must haye been embarrassing, anil inyite the ijuestion of good military 
judgment." 

At the next session of Congress, \yhich followed close upon the 
heels of the Cedar Creek rout, a concurrent resolution of thanks was 
voted unanimoush' to General Sheridan and his command. 

Xo account of this campaign can be completed without a reference 
to " Rienzi," the famous charger which carried Sheridan " all the way 
from Winchester" " to save the day" at Cedar Creek. " Rienzi," or 
" Winchester," as he was called by the general after the battle at that 
place, died at Chicago, Illinois, in October, 1S7S, at the age of twenty- 
one 3-ears. His remains were sent to a taxidermist at Rochester, New 
York, and after being skillfully mounted were presented by the general 
to the ^Military Institute for exhibition at their museum at Governor's 
Island, New York. Here the steed of that memorable ride to Win- 
chester can still be seen, looking as natural as life, and is the object 
of the greatest interest to the daily visitors to the island. 

The damage done to the enemy in the valley during this memora- 
ble struggle is summed up in army reports as follo^vs : 

Barns destroyed, 630, valued at $1,593,000; mills, 47, $314,000; 
tons of hay, 3,445, $103,607 ; bushels of wheat, 410,742, $1,025,105 ; 
saw-iiiills, 4, $S,ooo ; furnaces, 3, $45,000; woolen mills, i, $10,000; 
acres of corn, 515, $iS,ooo; bushels of oats, 750, $750; cattle driven 
off, 1,347, $305350; $heep, 1,231, $6,340; swine, 725, $S,ooo ; barrels 
of flour, 560, $6,720 ; tons of straw, 255, $2,550 ; tons of fodder, 272, 
$2,720; tanneries, 2, $4,000; wagons loaded with flour, 2, $500; 
railroad depots, 3, $3,000; locomotives, i, $10,000; box cars, 3, 
$1,500; total, $3,193,172. 

The country was wild with delight. The President and Secretary 
of War shared the common enthusiasm. The latter seeking some way 
of honoring the victor, conceived the idea of appointing him major- 
general in the regular army. Then, as General J^IcClellan had just 
resigned his commission, he having been nominated by the Democrats 
on the platform declaration " that the war was a failure," JMr. Stanton 
decided that Sheridan's new commission should date from that of Mc- 
Clellan's resignation, November S, 1864. A general order was issued 
announcing jSlajor-General Sheridan's promotion to the same rank 
that he held in the volunteer service, and that his commission was made 
to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of George B. McClellan. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 21^ 

In order to still further emphasize the feelings ^vhich dictated this 
appointment, the Assistant Secretary of War. Charles A. Dana, was 
sent by the President's orders to present the commission in person. 
-My. Dana has recently talked of his visit to the valley. Noticing the 
affection of Sheridan's"men for him, Dana said : -General, how is this ; 
these men seem to have a special affection for you, more than I ^ have 
ever seen displayed toward any other otficer ; what is the reason ? " 

- Well," said Sheridan, '• I think I can tell you. I always fight in 
the front rank myself. I was long ago convinced that it wouldn't do 
for a commanding general to stay in the rear of the troops and carry 
on battle with paper orders, as they do in the Army of the Potomac. 
These men all know that where it is the hottest there I am, and they 
like it, and that is the reason they likame." 

In the same conversation, Sheridan declared emphatically that it 
was all nonsense about a man's not being afraid under fire. He 
asserted that he always \yas, and that the only reason he did not 
turn and run was that" his mind had control of his body and its fears. 

Sheridan's own simple and modest dispatch announcing this great 
victory, snatched from the jaws of defeat, is only needed to complete 

the story : 

" I iiave the honor to report that my army at Cedar Creek was 
attacked this morning before daylight, and my left was turned and driven 
in confusion. In foct, most of the line was driven in confusion, with 
the loss of twenty pieces of artillery. I hastened from Winchester, 
where I was on my return from Washington, and found the armies 
bet^veenJMiddletown and Newtown, having been driven back about four 
miles. I here took the affair in hand and quickly united the corps, 
formed a compact line of battle just in time to repulse an attack of the 
enemy which was handsomely done at about i p. m. At 3 p. m., after 
some'changes of the cavalry from the left to the right, I attacked with 
great vigoi^ capturing, according to the last report, forty-three pieces 
of artillery, with very many prisoners. I do not know yet the number 
of my casualties or the losses of the enemy." 

^ir. Lincoln, in reply to Sheridan's dispatch announcing the vic- 
tory, wrote Sheridan as follows : 

'" With great pleasure I tender you and your great army the thanks 
of the nation, and my own personal admiration and gratitude for the 
month's operations in the Shenandoah Valley, and especially for the 
splendid work of October 19th." 




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Chapter XVIIl. 



GORDON'S MORNING SURPRISE AT 
CEDAR CREEK. 

GORDON UNDER EARLY A DISTINGUISHED CONFEDERATE SOLDIER — AN INTER- 
VIEW ABOUT CEDAR CREEK — COMMANDING EWELL'S OLD CORPS — HOW 
HE PLANNED THE ATTACK ON WRIGHT — TURNING OUR FLANK SUCCESS- 
FULLY — ROUT OF THE EIGHTH CORPS — EARLY's FOLLY — DONE ENOUGH 
FOR ONE DAY — SHERIDAN's ARRIVAL — A UNION VICTORY. 

One of the most notable of soldiers produced by the Confederacy 
is the present governor of Georgia, formerly a United States Senator 
from that state — John B. Gordon, who at the time of Lee's surrender 
had attained the rank of lieutenant-general. General Gordon is one 
of the few Southern officers who obtained and held distinguished rank 
in their army from civil life. The general himself stands first among 
that few. Senator Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, General Mahone, 
of Virginia, and Representative Wheeler, of Alabama, are still living. 
Forest and Morgan as cavalry leaders. Price as a corps commander, of 
those who are dead, count all whose names ^vill be held in military 
esteem. Of these Mahone is the only one who had any military train- 
ing, he having graduated as an engineer at the Virginia Military 
Academy. General Gordon, however, was easily first among the few. 
In an interview with Colonel Burr since General Sheridan's death, 
which has been published in a Boston paper,* Governor Gordon 
gives a number of such interesting details of the Valley Campaign of 
1864, as well as confirms so strongly the extraordinary effect at Cedar 
Creek of Sheridan's arrival and personality on the field, and among his 
already defeated troops, that it is deemed proper to reproduce the 
account in these pages as a positive and valuable contribution to the 
life and actions of General Sheridan. The generosity of Gordon's 
mentality is clearlv shown in his frank and open admiration of his 
whilom enemy. 

*Boston Herald, August 19, iSSS. 



2i8 THE LIFE OF 

The interview occurred at Gettysburg. In response to the remark 
that had his (Gordon's) suggestions been carried out by Early, even 
Sheridan could not have "saved the day " on that memorable 19th 
of October, 1S64, at Cedar Creek, the ex-Confederate general said, 
after remarking that he was a corps commander under Early : 

" Yes, the plan was mine whollv, and so was the conduct of the 
fight up to a certain point. If my plan had been carried ovit there 
would never have been any ' Sheridan's ride.' 

"We felt the vast importance of success and we started in to win it. 
We had good men, and, in most respects, we were well organized and 
equipped. In the Shenandoah Valley we were among as good friends 
as the Southern cause could boast. 

"We swept down the valley and whipped Lew Wallace on the 
Monocacy, and were only a little too late for capturing Washington, 
while a great career seemed opened to our army. W^e could not quite get 
the Federal capital. As we moved off from Washington two splendid 
corps were immediately put under Sheridan. We had a great deal of 
confidence in ourselves, with a clear field, and the army was in good 
spirits. Across the Potomac we stopped to rest and to gather forage 
and food. We also did some recruiting. Sheridan attacked usat Win- 
ches'ter and we were routed. It was the first battle we lost in the valley. 
Indeed, before that we had not even had a check of any kind, having 
been enabled to live off the country, and even to forward supplies to 
Richmond. 

"When Sheridan came up in the valley our troops were very much 
scattered. This, of course, because it was more convenient to feed 
them in that way, and we had not gotten well in line when we were 
plunged into the midst of battle. The Federal assault was confident 
and impetuous, especially that of the Nineteenth Corps, and we were in 
no condition to resist it. One division after another broke, and when 
the sun went down on the evening of the 19th of September the Federal 
victory was complete. We had been beaten in detail. The attack was 
too sudden to enable us to consolidate our forces and use them to the 
best advantage, and we were shattered and demoralized. 

"Dejected and broken, we moved down the valley to Fisher's Hill, 
where we had a very strong position. There we stopped and recruited, 
and tried to repair the damage which had been done. Our soldiers 
were very much disheartened, however. The transformation from a 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 219 

hopeful and advancing army to a beaten and retreating one was too great. 
Three days later we were attacked in our position and again defeated. 

"For nearly a month there was a respite, and then came Cedar 
Creek. For the time being we won one of the great victories of the 
war. Every detail of the movement was carefully planned, and for 
twelve hours it was supremely successful. I had gone the day before, 
October iSth, to the top of what is called Massanutten Mountain, where 
we had a signal corps stationed, and had taken observations through the 
field-glasses. There was a magnificent bird's-eye view. The Shen- 
andoah was the silver bar between us. On the opposite side of the 
river I could distinctly see the red-cufts of the artillerists. Why, I had 
so good a view that I could see the sore spots on the hoi'ses' backs in 
your camp. In front of Belle Grove mansion F could see members 
of Sheridan's stafl' coming and going. I could not imagine a better 
opportunity for making out an enemy's position and strength. I could 
even count the men who were there. The camp was splendidly 
exposed to me. I marked the position of the guns, and the pickets 
walking to and fro, and observed where the cavalry was placed. 

"It flashed upon me instantly that the expectation of General Sher- 
idan was that we would attack him on his right, which was the only 
place supposed possible for the advance of any army. His left was 
protected by the Shenandoah ; at this point the mountain was very pre- 
cipitous, and the river ran around it. There was no road at all, and 
the point was guarded only by a mere cavalry picket. 

" I saw our opportunity in an instant, and I told the ofiicers present 
that if General Early would permit me to move my corps (I was then 
commanding Ewell's corps) down to this point, I could get around the 
mountain. Both sides believed this was impossible, but I felt sure that 
it could be done. My plan was to dismount our cavalry, attack Sheri- 
dan's cavalry when dismounted, and keep them from moving. I knew 
that if we could do this we would gain a great victory. 

"None of my brother ofiicers had at first much confidence in the 
plan. When I was on Massanutten, the members of General Early's 
staff' who were with me were utterly incredulous. I told them that if I 
was allowed to carry out my plan we could annihilate Sheridan's army 
and drive him pell-mell out of the y^iUey, and raise the spirits of our 
people beyond measure." 

In explaining the details. General Gordon says: "There was a 
back road running from our position on Fisher's Hill to the Federal 



220 THE LIFE OF 

right, where the cavalry was posted. I expected to deceive the Fed- 
erals by Lomax' attack. It would be dark still, and they could not 
distinguish our dismounted cavalry from infantry, and would believe 
that our main attack was there on tlieir right. This would leave us 
free to operate around their left. 

" Genei-al Early acted promptly after he understood the project. 
The plan was submitted, talked over, and finally substantially agreed 
upon. I took my command, having ordered them to leave their can- 
teens, sabres, and everything that could make a noise behind. I knew 
that our only dependence was in absolute secrecy, and in a complete 
surprise. After inspecting things with my stafl^, I fovmd I could get my 
men around the mountain by putting them in single file. I discovered 
still another place where the horses could be led, although the venture 
would be exceedingly dangerous. Still, the expedition was essentially 
one of great peril, and more or less danger was of little consequence. 

" Sharp men often leave a loop-hole ; and as Sheridan, or Wright, of 
the Sixth Corps, who was in actual command, had never thi"ough their 
scouts discovered this narrow, country road, or did not deem it possible 
to move an armv by it, w^e were left to complete our surprise unmo- 
lested. The event was taking things as they were, not only possible 
but actual, and we did what none of your people for a moment dreamed 
of as possible. Early in the night I began to move my men around the 
mountain. My object was to have them already for an attack before 
daylight in the morning. The movement took all night. All through 
the hours of darkness the silent figures moved to their position near the 
sleeping enemy. An entire brigade of cavalry was moved in this 
way, and reached the point in about one and a half hours in advance 
of the men. I instructed the cavalry that as soon as I got ready to 
move they were to proceed in my front, rush across the river, open on 
the cavalry pickets, and capture them if possible. If they could not 
do this, they were to put their horses to full speed, ride right through 
the Federal camp, firing their pistols to the right and to the left as they 
passed through, and make directly for Sheridan's headquarters and 
capture him. 

" At that time I did not know that Sheridan was absent and Wright 
in command. I had selected his house from the flags which floated from 
it and the couriers who were constantly going in and out. My orders 
were : ' Go right through the Federal camp with your command before 
daylight and directly to General Sheridan's headquarters. Capture 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 221 

him ! ' I told them not to try to take any prisoners, not to mind anything, 
but every mounted man was to press straight toward Belle Grove. 
We, with the infantry, would take cai'e of what was behind. I knew 
very well that the little fighting or capturing they could do would be of 
little account compared with the prize they were expected to get. In 
order to guard against a premature onset at some point, we compared 
watches and arranged the times of attack. In fact, the actual demon- 
stration was made in full accordance with my plan of action. 

"My signal was obeyed exactly. On the morning of the 19th, just 
about daylight, we fired three or four shots. Away the Federal pickets 
went, with our cavalry brigade after them. I rushed across, wading 
the river with my whole corps of infantry. We went with a rush and 
double-quick. Before starting I had selected the house on the road 
at which the head of my column should stop. It was a white house at 
the turn of the road, farther down toward the river, and was on the 
flank of the enemy's line. As soon as I got there I was in position and 
I had nothing to do but to close up in front and move. Dashing for- 
ward with one brigade, we plunged into the enemy's camp and found 
the men asleep. Many of them never awoke in this world. We went 
right through them and shot every one in flight. The cavalry had 
reached the headquarters and General Wright barely escaped, leaving 
his papers behind him, and they fell into our hands. We killed and 
wounded between seven and eight thousand of the panic-stricken and 
bewildered Federals, and broke two corps entirely to pieces. The loss 
in my command was only about two hundred. By sunrise we occupied 
the breast-works. The enemy's cavalry was forced to retreat before 
Rosser, although superior to him in numbers. We did not press our 
advance. The enemy still liiid 'the Sixth Corps in reserve, but we 
drove it back and captured a few of its ^Dieces. That was the battle of 
Cedar Creek, and it was a complete victory. 

"To show that this was true, let me remind you that the Eighth 
Corps was scattered to the winds, the Nineteenth Corps, after hard 
fighting, was routed and driven entirely out of their works, and we 
had possession of the entire Federal position except a part of that held 
by the Sixth Corps. This corps had filed out by the left toward the 
pike, and we had driven them back and forced them to a ridge just 
west of Middletown. We had the pike away along up to the edge of 
Middletown, and our position was admirable every way. 

" What was the real cause of the halt in our progress.'' There has 
been a great deal of misunderstanding on this point. I saw that the 



222 THE LIFE OF 

enemy had a strong position, but that it was the last one they could hold. 
We had one of the finest positions for posting artillery I ever saw — 
right on the highest point of the pike south of Middletown, and east 
and above Sheridan's headquarters. I called for Colonel Carter, the 
chief of artillery, and wanted thirty guns planted right there, and we 
would have battered that Federal line all to pieces, demoralized an 
already beaten army, and sent it in utter panic down the valley. Let 
me tell you the real cause of our failure to get the artillery effectually 
at work. We did get a few guns — enough to break the line — but 
herein comes the lamentable feature of that day's business. You know 
Early says that the final defeat was caused by the demoralization of his 
own men in plundering the Federal camp and in gorging on sutlers' 
supplies there captured. There isn't a word of truth in it. There' 
never was less straggling or plundering among any troops than thei'e 
was in our army that morning. I had them well in hand, and had 
issued the strictest orders that any soldier foiling out for plunder should 
be shot instantly. 

" That whole statement is false. The real trouble was here. I 
was making every effort to get a mass of artillery in position when 
General Early rode up. He was wild with joy. I exclaimed ' Gen- 
eral Early, give me thirty pieces of artillery right here and we will 
destroy that army and send its fragments over the Potomac' I knew 
that, the supreme moment had come. 

" 'No, no,' he said. ' We've won a great victory; we've done 
enough for one day ; we will stop here.' 

" ' But,' I said, ' let us finish the job. It is true we have won a 
great victory ; let us complete it. We can do it in an hour, and so 
destroy that army that it will never show its head in the valley again.' 

" But General Early said no ; that the men had seen fighting 
enough, and that we had won glory enough for one day. 

" ' Very well, sir,' I replied ; ' then I will return to my command.' 

" Until then I had had charge of the entire movement on the right. 
I did return to my corps, and Early carried on the battle. We 
followed up the Federals as they retreated. Our men were too much 
elated with their victory. 

As to Early's own conduct on the field. General Gordon permitted 
himself to say nothing. He describes vividly how the battle changed : 

" Every body knows about how Sheridan reached the field in the 
nick of time, and how he came thundering down from Winchester. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



22^ 




He found his men 
scattered along 
the road in terror- 
stricken confu- 
sion, and he com- 
pelled them to 
turn about and 
follow him. He 
was a fury on 
horseback, dash- 
ing here and there 
among the fljdng 
soldiers and beat- 
ing them back to 
the field of death 
which they hatl 
quitted. Mean- 
while, the men 
who were retreat- 
ing from the front 
had been brought 
to some sort of 
order. Then fol- 
lowed one of the most extraordinary reversals in the history of any 
war. As soon as Sheridan reached the field he re-formed his line and 
practiced upon us precisely the same movement which had demoralized 
his own forces in the morning. He just moved around our flank, 
swept down it, and whipped us out of existence. He broke our line 
all to fragments, and routed the whole army most absolutely. It was 
as thorough a defeat as I ever saw. The day had dawned upon victory 
and exultation. It closed upon utter disaster and dejection. Two dis- 
tinct battles had been fought, and in the last we lost all that we had 
gained in the first one, and all that we had before. The reaction was 
dramatic in its suddenness and completeness, and when we left the field 
that evening, the Confederacy had retired from the Shenandoah. It 
was our last real fight in the valley." 

In regard to the number of killed and wounded on the Union side 
General Gordon overstates the focts a little. We fought four great 
battles and won each one of them, with the loss, in killed of but 1,938, 



GEN. EBEN J. FARNSWORTH, 



A DARING CAVALRY OFFICER, KILLED AT GETTYSBURG. 



224 THE LIFE OF 

and of wounded 11,893. The missing numbered 3,121; in all 16,- 
952. These figures include all skirmishes and cavalry tights during a 
period of seven months. It was, therefore, impossible that our loss 
could be as great. As a matter of fact, it was less in the morning rout by 
nearly one-half of our loss at Winchester or Opequan Ford. 

General Gordon's statement is, however, a most noteworthy one. 
The character of its author is a clear guarantee of its truthfulness, so 
far as he was able to know the facts in their completeness. 

The roster of the Confederate army serving under General Early, at 
the date of Sheridan's arrival in the valley, was as follows : 

ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY OF THE VALLEY DISTRICT, ON 
SEPTEMBER 30, 186^. 

LiEfTENANT-GENERAL JuBAL Early, Commanding. 

RHODES DIVISION. 

Major-General S. D. Ramseur, Commanding. 

Grimes' Brigade. — Brigadier-General Brj'an Grimes : Thirty-second North 
Carolina, Colonel D. G. Cowand; Forty-third North Carolina, Colonel J. R. 
Winston; Forty-fifth North Carolina, Colonel J. R. Winston; Fifty-third North 
Carolina, Colonel D. G. Cowand; Second North Carolina Battalion, Colonel 
D. G. Cowand. 

Cook's. Brigade. — Brigadier-General Phil Cook : Fourth Georgia, Lieutenant- 
Colonel W. H. Willis; Twelfth Georgia, Captain James Everett; Twenty-first 
Georgia, Captain H. J. Battle; Forty-fourth Georgia, Lieutenant-Colonel J. W. 
Beck. 

Cox's Brigade. — Brigadier-General W. R. Cox: First North Carolina, Cap- 
tain W. H. Thompson ; Second North Carolina, Captain T. B. Beall ; Third 
North Carolina, Captain W. H. Thompson; Fourth North Carolina, Colonel 
Ed. A. Osborn ; Fourteenth North Carolina, Captain Joseph Jones; Thirtieth 
North Carolina, Captain J. C. McMillan. 

Battle's Brigade. — Brigadier-General C. A. Battle: Third Alabama, Colonel 
Charles Forsyth; Fifth Alabama, Lieutenant-Colonel E. L. Hobson ; Sixth 
Alabama, Captain J. Green; Twelfth Alabama, Captain P. D. Rose; Sixty-first 
Alabama, Major W. E. Pinckard. 

GORDON'S DIVISION. 

Major-General John B. Gordon, Commanding. 

Hay's Brigade. — Colonel Wm. Monaghan : Fifth Louisiana, Major A. Hart ; 
Sixth Louisiana, Lieutenant-Colonel J. Hanlon ; Seventh Louisiana, Lieutenant- 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 22^ 

Colonel T. M. Ferrj; Eighth Louisiana, Captain L. Prados ; Ninth Louisiana 
Colonel Wm. R. Peck, 

Stafford's Brigade. — Colonel Eugene Waggaman : First Louisiana, Captain 
Joseph Taylor; Second Louisiana, Lieutenant-Colonel M. A. Grogan ; Tenth 
Louisiana, Lieutenant-Colonel H. D. Monier; Fourteenth Louisiana, Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel David Zable; Fifteenth Louisiana, Captain H.J. Egan. 

Evan's Brigade. — Colonel E. N. Atkinson (October 30th, Brigadier-General 
C. A. Evans): Thirteenth Georgia, Colonel John H. Baker; Tw^entj-sixth 
Georgia, Lieutenant-Colonel James S. Blain ; Thirtj-first Georgia, Colonel 
John H. Lowe; Thirty-eighth Georgia, Major Thomas H. Bomar; Sixtieth 
Georgia, Captain Milton Russell; Sixty-first Georgia, Captain E. F. Sharpe ; 
Twelfth Georgia Battalion, Captain J. W. Anderson. 

Terry s Brigade. — Brigadier-General William Terry: Stonewall Brigade, 
Colonel J. H. S. Frink (October 30th, Colonel A. Spangler) : Second Virginia, 
Fourth Virginia, Fifth Virginia, Twenty-seventh Virginia, Thirty-third Vir- 
ginia; J. M. Jones Brigade, Colonel R. H. Dungan (October 30th, Colonel 
W. A. Whitcher) : Twenty-first Virginia, Twenty-fifth Virginia, Forty-second 
Virginia, Forty-fourth Virginia, Forty-eighth Virginia, Fiftieth Virginia; G. 
H. Steuart's Brigade, Lieutenant-Colonel S. H. Saunders (October 30th, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Martz) : Tenth Virginia, Twenty-third Virginia, Thirty-seventh 
Virginia. 

EARLY'S DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General John Pegram, Commanding. 

Pegravis Brigade. — Colonel John S. Hoffman : Thirteenth Virginia, Captain 
Felix Herskell ; Thirty-first Virginia, Lieutenant-Colonel J. S. K. McCutchen; 
Forty-ninth Virginia, Captain John G. Lobban ; Fifty-second Virginia, Captain 
J. M. Humphreys; Fifty-eighth Virginia, Captain L. C. James. 

y^o/ifis/ofi's Brigade. — Brigadier-General Robert D.Johnston: Fifth North 
Carolina, Colonel John W. Lea; Twelfth North Carolina, Colonel Henry E. 
Coleman ; Twenty-ninth North Carolina, Colonel T. F. Toon ; Twenty-third 
North Carolina, Colonel C C. Blacknall. 

Godwin'' s Brigade. — Lieutenant-Colonel W. T. Davis : Sixth North Carolina, 
Lieuteuant-Colonel S. McD. Tate; Twenty-first North Carolina, Major W. I. 
Pfohl ; Fifty-fourth North Carolina, Captain A. H. Martin; Fifty-seventh North 
Carolina, Captain M. H. Hunter; First North Carolina Battalion, Captain R. E. 
Wilson. 

WHARTON'S DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General G. C. Wharton, Commanding. 

EcJioVs Brigade. — Captain Edmund S. Read: Twenty-second Virginia, 
Captain Henry S. Dickerson ; Twenty-third Virginia, Captain John M. Pratt; 
Twenty-sixth Virginia, Captain Frank S. Burdett. 



226 THE LIFE OF 

W/iartons Brigade. — Captain R. H. Logan: Foity-fifth Virginia, Major 
Alexander M. Davis; Fifty-first Virginia, Colonel August Fosberg; Thirtieth 
Virginia Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel J. Lyle Clark. 

Smith's Brigade. — Colonel Thomas Smith : Thirty-sixth Virginia, Lieutenant 
Jackson Vin; Sixtieth Virginia, Captain A. G. P. George; Forty-fifth Virginia 
Battalion, Captain W. B. Hensly; Thomas Legion, Lieutenant-Colonel J. R. 
Lowe. 

KERSHAW'S DIVISION. 

Major-Gexeral J. B. Kershaw, Commanding. 

Wojf'ord's Brigade. — Colonel C. C Sanders : Sixteenth Georgia, Major 
J. S. Cholston; Eighteenth Georgia, Colonel Joseph Armstrong; Twenty- 
fourth Georgia, Colonel C. C Sanders; Third Georgia Battalion, Lieutenant- 
Colonel N. L. Hutchins; Cobb's Legion, Lieutenant-Colonel L. J. Glenn; 
Phillip's Legion, Lieutenant-Colonel J. Hamilton. 

Kers/iaiv's Brigade. — Brigadier-General Conner: Second South Carolina, 
Colonel J. D. Kennedy; Third South Carolina, Colonel W. D. Rutherford; 
Seventh South Carolina, Captain E. J. Goggans ; Eighth South Carolina, Colo- 
nel y. W. Henagan ; Fifteenth South Carolina, Colonel J. B. Davis; Twentieth 
South Carolina, Col. S. RL Boykin ; Third South Carolina Battalion, Lieuten- 
ant [Colonel] W. G. Rice. 

Humphreys' Brigade. — Brigadier-General B. G. Humphreys: Thirteenth 
Mississippi, Lieutenant-Colonel A. G. O'Brien; Seventeenth Mississippi, Cap- 
tain J. C. Cockran ; Eighteenth Mississippi, Colonel T. M. Griffin; Twenty-first 
Mississippi, Colonel D. N. Moody. 

Bryan's Brigade. — Brigadier-General Goode Bryan: Tenth Georgia, Colo- 
nel W. C. Holt; Fiftieth Georgia, Colonel P. McGloshan ; Fifty-first Georgia, 
Colonel E. Ball; Fifty-third Georgia; Colonel J. P. Simms. 

ARTILLERY DIVISION. 

Colonel T. H. Carter, Commanding. 

Braxton's Battalion. — Lieutenant-Colonel C. 'M. Braxton : Alleghany Artil- 
lery, Virginia, Captain J. C. Carpenter; Staft'ord Artillery, ^'irginia, Captain 
W. P. Cooper; Lee Battery, \'irginia. Lieutenant W. W. Hardwick. 

Cutsha~u''s Battalion. — Major W. E. Cutshaw : Orange Artillery, Virginia, 
Captain C. W. Fry; Staunton Artillery, Virginia, Captain A. W. Garber; 
Courtney Battery, Virginia, L. F. Jones. 

McLaughlin's Battalion. — Major William McLaughlin: Bryan's Virginia 
Battery; Chapman's Virginia Battery; Lowry's Mrginia Battery. 

Nelson's Battalion. — Lieutenant-Colonel William Nelson : Amherst Artillery, 
Virginia, Captain T. J. Kirkpatrick; Fluvanna Artillery, Virginia, Captain J. 
L. Massic; Milledge's Artillery, Georgia, Captain John Milledge. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



227 



CAVALRY FORCES. 
LOMAX" DIVISION. 
Major-General J. J. LoMAX. 

McCausland's B^-igade, — Brigadier-General J. McCausland : Fourteenth Vir- 
ginia; Sixteenth Virginia; Seventeenth Virginia ; Twenty-Fifth Virginia; Thirty- 
seventh Virginia Battalion. 

yo/tnson's Brigade. — Brigadier-General B. T. Johnson: Eighth Virginia ; 
Twentj-first Virginia; Twenty-second Virginia ; Thirty-fourth Virginia Battery ; 
Thirty-sixth Virginia Batterj'. 

yacksoti's Brigade. — Brigadier-General H. B. Davidson : First Maryland ; 
Nineteenth Virginia; Twentieth Virginia; Forty-sixth Virginia Battalion ; Forty- 
seventh Virginia Battalion. 

Jiiihoden's Brigade. — Colonel George H. Smith: Eighteenth Virginia; 
Twenty-third Virginia; Sixty-second Mounted Infantry. 

I.EE'S DIVISION. 

Wiclham's Brigade. — Brigadier-General W. C. Wickham : First Virginia, 
Colonel Carter; Second Virginia, Colonel Mumford ; Third Virginia, Colonel 
Owen ; Fourth Virginia, Colonel Pavne. 

Loinax' Brigade. — Brigadier-General L. L. Lomax : Fifth Virginia, Colonel 
H. Clay Pate; Sixth Virginia, Colonel Julien Harrison; Fifteenth Virginia, 
Colonel C. R. Collins. 

Rosser's Brigade. — Brigadier-General Thomas L. Rosser : Seventh Virginia, 
Colonel R. H. Dulany; Eleventh Virginia, Colonel O. R. Funsten ; Twelfth 
Virginia, Colonel A. \V. Harman ; Thirty-fifth Virginia Battalion, Lieutenant- 
Colonel E. V. White. 





SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 



' But there is a road from Winchester town, | 

A good, broad highway leading down; 
And there, through the flush of the morning light. 



A steed as black as the steeds of night. 
Was seen to pass, as with eagle flight. 



[From an Original Painting by Copela7td, of Boston.^ 



Chapter XIX. 



SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 

THE DASH TO CEDAR CREEK — HOW THE RIDE WAS MADE — SHERIDAN'S WAR- 
HORSE — A DESPERATE SITUATION — THE TIDE OF BATTLE RUNXING 
AGAINST THE UNION TROOPS — A FRESH INSPIRATION FOR THE ARMY — 
HOW THE STORY OF IT CAME TO BE WRITTEN — HOW T. BUCHANAN READ 
GOT HIS INSPIRATION. 

Between Winchester and Cedar Creek sixteen to eighteen miles of 
turnpike stretched away up the beautiful valley that had been made 
desolate by the torch and tramp of armies. As that charming region, 
clad in the garb of summer, lay between the mountains, its bright 
colors reflected in the rays of a mellow sunshine, it was but a sad 
reminder of the once great granary that for more than three years of 
conflict had furnished untold supplies to the Confederate Army. 
Sheridan had laid it waste. 

He had clinched with and beaten Early at Winchester, and now 
he was hurrying with all speed back to the scenes of strife, where the 
tide of battle was ebbing and flowing upon a new field, and the fate 
of the day hung trembling in the balance. 

For several weary, doubtful hours the two armies had been in deadly 
conflict. When Sheridan arrived at Winchester, the roar of artillery 
and the roll of musketry could be distinctly heard from the field of 
carnage along Cedar Creek. Down the valley came the awful din, 
echoing louder and louder through the still summer air, as the battle 
grew fiercer. There was but short dela}^ at Winchester, the chief 
town in the lower valley. 

There Sheridan mounted his favorite war-horse, — a large, beautiful, 
sinewy, black charger, who had borne his master through the heat of 
many conflicts. He is dead now, and his body has been preserved, 
that men yet to come may see the animal whose endurance has been 
recorded in enduring verse. Through the town and out over the turn- 
pike which leads up the Shenandoah, Sheridan rode. 



230 THE LIFE OF 

Who, knowing the quality of the man, cannot picture the restless 
rider urging his horse to his utmost speed to reach the field where the 
fate of his army was still pending in the hazard of war. He had only 
covered a few miles, when the moving mass of debris which always 
surges at the rear of a battle-field when the conflict is severe and doubt- 
ful, met his trained eye, and told more plainly than words what was 
going on in front. It was a signal of distress, and none knew it better 
than he. The sight fired his heart anew, and only added fresh impetus 
to his foaming horse. He reached the field after a sleepless night and 
a terrific journey, and the battle of Cedar Creek was won. Both poet 
and painter took up the theme of the ride and made it famous. 

" I was not with Sheridan at this time," said James E. Murdoch, 
" but was at the headquarters of the Army of the Cumberland. Soon 
after the battle of Cedar Creek, I came ujd to Cincinnati and was visit- 
ing Mr. Cyrus Garrett, whom we called ' Old Cyclops.' He was 
T. Buchanan Read's brother-in-law, and with him the poet made his 
home. The ladies of Cincinnati had arranged to give me a reception 
that finally turned into an ovation. I had given many i^eadings to raise 
funds to assist their Soldiers' Aid Society, and they were going to pre- 
sent me with a silk flag. Pike's Opera House had been secured, the 
largest place of amusement in the city, and they had made every arrange- 
ment to have the reception a very dramatic event. The morning of the 
day it was to take place. Read and I were, as usual, taking our break- 
fast late. We had just finished, but were still sitting at the table 
chatting. 

'' Mr. Garrett, the brother-in-law, a business man and guided by ' 
business habits, came in while we were thus lounging. He wore an air 
of impatience, and carried a paper in his hand. He walked directly up 
to Read, unfolded a copy of Harper's Weekly and held it up before the 
man so singularly gifted as both poet and painter. The whole front 
of the paper was covered with a striking picture representing Sheridan, 
seated on his black horse, just emerging from a cloud of dust that rolled 
up from the highway as he dashed along, followed by a few troopers. 

"'There,' said Mr. Garrett, addressing Read, '• see what you have 
missed. You ought to have drawn that picture yourself and gotten the 
credit of it ; it is just in your line. The first thing you know somebody 
will write a poem on that event, and you will be beaten all round.' 

" Read looked at the picture rather quizzically — a look which I 
interrupted by saying : 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



231 



'"Old Cy- 
clops is right, 
Read, the subject 
and the circum- 
stance are worth 
a poem.' 

'"Oh no,' 
said Read, 'that 
theme has been 
written to death. 
There is " Paul 
Revere's Ride," 
" Lochinvar," 
Tom Hood's 
"Wild Steed of 
the Plains," and 
half a dozen 
other poems of 
like character.' 

"Filled with 
the idea that this 
was a good 
chance for the 
gifted man, I 
said : 

" ' Read, you 
are losing a great 
opportunity. If 
I had such a 
poem to read at my reception to-night, it would make a great hit.' 

" ' But, Murdoch, you can't order a poem as you would a coat. I 
can't write anything in a few hours that will do either you or me any 
credit,' he replied rather sharply. 

" I turned to him, and said : 

" ' Read, two or three thousand of the warmest hearts in Cincinnati 
will be in Pike's Opera House to-night at that presentation. It will be 
a very significant affair. Now, you go and give me anything in rhyme, 
and I will give it a deliverance before that splendid audience, and you 
can then revise and polish it before it goes into print.' 

" This view seemed to strike him favorably, and he finally said : 

" ' Well ! Well ! We'll see what can be done,' and he went upstairs 




GEN. JUBAL EARLY, 

SHERIDAN'S ANTAGONIST AT WINCHESTER. 

[From a Photograph taken since the IVar.] 



232 THE LIFE OF 

to his room. A half hour later, Hattie, his wife, a brilliant woman, 
who is now residing in Philadelphia, came down and said : 

" ' He wants a pot of strong tea. He told me to get it for him, and 
then he would lock the door and must not be disturbed unless the house 
was afire.' 

" Time wore on, and in our talk on other matters in the family circle 
we had almost forgotten the poet at work upstairs. Dinner had been 
announced, and we were about to sit down, when Read came in and 
beckoned to me. When I reached the room, he said : 

" ' Murdoch, I think I have about what you want.' 

" He read it to me, and with an enthusiasm that surprised him, I 
said, ' It is just the thing.' 

" We dined, and at the proper time. Read and I, with the family, 
went to Pike's Opera House. The building was crowded in every 
part. Upon the stage were sitting 200 maimed soldiers, each with an 
arm or a leg off. General Joe Hooker was to present me with the 
flag the ladies had made, and at the time appointed we marched down 
the stage toward the footlights. General Hooker bearing the flag, and I 
with my arm in his. Such a storm of applause as greeted the appear- 
ance I never heard before or since. Behind and on each side of us were 
the rows of crippled soldiers, — in front the vast audience, cheering to 
the echo. Hooker quailed before the warm reception, and growing ner- 
vous, said to me in an undertone : 

" ' I can stand the storm of battle, but this is too much for me.' 

" ' Leave it to me,' said I, ' I am an old hand behind the footlights 
and will divert the strain from you.' So quickly I dropped upon my 
knee, took a fold of the silken flag and pressed it to my lips. This 
by-play created a fresh storm of enthusiasm, but it steadied Hooker, and 
he presented the flag very gracefully. I accepted it in fitting words. 

" I then drew the poem Read had written from my pocket, and 
with proper introduction, began reading it to the audience. The vast 
assemblage became as still as a church during prayer-time, and I read 
the three verses without a pause, and then the fourth : 

" ' Under his spurning feet the road 
Like an arrowy Alpine river flowed, 
And the landscape sped away behind 
Like an ocean flying before the wind, 
And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace ire, 
Swept on, with his wild eyes full of fire. 
But lo ! he is nearing his heart's desire; 
He is snufiing the smoke of the roaring fray, 
With Sheridan only five miles away.' 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 233 

"As this verse was finished the audience broke into a tumult of 
apphiuse.. Then I read with all the spirit I could command : 

" ' The first that the general saw were the groups 
Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops. 
What was done? what to do? a glance told him both ; 
Then striking his spurs, with a terrible oath. 
He dashed down the line, 'mid a storm of huzzas, 
And the wave of retreat checked its course there, because 
The sight of the master compelled it to pause. 
With foam and with dust the black charger was gray ; 
By the flash of his eye, and his red nostrils' play. 
He seemed to the whole great army to say, 
" I have brought you Sheridan all the way 
From Winchester, down to save the day." ' 

"The sound of my voice uttering the last word had not died away, 
when cheer after cheer went up from the great concourse that shook 
the building to its very foundation. Ladies waved their handkerchiefs 
and men their hats, until worn out with the fervor of the hour. They 
then demanded the author's name, and I pointed to Read, who was 
sitting in a box, and he acknowledged the verses. 

"In such a setting and upon such an occasion as I have been able 
only faintly to describe to you, the poem of vSheridan's ride was given 
to the world. It was written in about three hours, and not a word was 
ever changed after I read it from the manuscript, except by the addition 
of the third verse, which records the fifteen-mile stage of the ride : 

" ' But there is a road from Winchester town, 
A good, broad highway leading down ; 
And there, through the flush of the morning light, 
A steed as black as the steeds of night 
Was seen to pass, as with eagle flight. 
As if he knew the terrible need ; 
He stretched away with the utmost speed ; 
Hills rose and fell; but his heart was gay, 
With Sheridan fifteen miles away.' 

" This Mr, Read wrote while on his way, shortly after I first read the 
poem, to attend a birthday reception to William Cullen Bryant. Mr. 
Read read the poem, thus completed, at ]Mr. Bryant's birthday party. 
The great old man listened to every line of it, and then, taking the 
younger poet by the hand, said, with great warmth, ' That poem will 
live as long as " Lochinvar." ' " 



234 THE LIFE OF 

The heroic verse in which Mr. Read so graphically describes General 
Sheridan's wonderful ride is here quoted in full : 

SHERIDAN'S Ride. 



Up from the south at break of day, 
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay, 
The aftrighted air with a shudder bore. 
Like a herald in haste, to the chieftain's door, 
The terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar, 
Telli?ig the battle was on once more, 
And Sheridan twenty miles away. 

And wider still those billows of war 
Thundered along the horizon's bar ; 
And louder yet into Winchester rolled 
The roar of that red sea uncontrolled, 
Making the blood of the listener cold. 
As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray. 
And Sheridan twenty miles away. 

But there is a road from Winchester town, 

A good, broad highway leading down ; 

And there, through the flush of the morning light, 

A steed as black as the steeds of night. 

Was seen to pass, as with eagle flight, 

As if he knew the terrible need ; 

He stretched away with his utmost speed ; 

Hills rose and fell ; but his heart was gay, 

With Sheridan fifteen miles away. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 23^ 

Still sprung from those swift hoofs, thundering south, 

The dust, like smoke from the cannon's mouth ; 

Or the trail of a comet, sweeping faster and faster, 

Foreboding to traitors the doom of disaster. 

The heart of the steed, and the heart of the master. 

Were beating like prisoners assaulting their walls. 

Impatient to be where the battle-field calls ; 

Every nerve of the charger was strained to full play. 

With Sheridan only ten miles away. 

Under his spurning feet the road 

Like an arrowy Alpine river flowed. 

And the landscape sped away behind 

Like an ocean flying before the wind. 

And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace ire, 

Swept on, with his wild eye full of fire. 

But lo ! he is nearlng his heart's desire ; 

He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray. 

With Sheridan only five miles away. 

The first that the general saw were the groups 
Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops. 
What was done .'' what to do ? a glance told him both ; 
Then striking his spurs, with a terrible oath, 
He dashed down the line, 'mid a storm of huzzas. 
And the wave of retreat checked its course there, because 
The sight of the master compelled it to pause. 
With foam and with dust the black charger was gray ; 
By the flash of his eye, and his red nostrils' play, 
He seemed to the whole great ai^my to say, 
' ' I have brought you Sheridan all the way 
From Winchester, down to save the day." 



2^6 GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 

Hurrah ! hurrah for Sheridan ! 
Hurrah ! hurrah for horse and man ! 
And when their statues are placed on high, 
, " Under the dome of tlie Union sky, 

The Amei-ican soldiers' Temple of Fame ; 
There with the glorious general's name, 
Be it said, in letters both bold and bright, 
" Here is the steed that saved the day, 
B}' carrying Sheridan into the tight. 
From Winchester, twenty miles away ! " 




GENERAL SHERIDAN'S HEADQUARTERS AT 
WINCHESTER. 

THE RESIDENCE OF LLOYD LOGAN, ESQ. 



Chapter XX. 



THE UNION CAVALRY AND ITS COM- 
MANDERS. 

HOW OUR CAVALRY BECAME EFFECTIVE — MOUNTED INFANTRY AND ITS USES — 
SHERIDAN AND CAVALRY REORGANIZATION — HOW THE COMMANDERS WERE 
BRED — THE BATTLE OF TOM'S RUN, AND THE "WOODSTOCK RACES" — A 
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF BATTLE — CUSTER, THE EMBODIMENT OF WAR — 
STORIES OF THE YELLOW-HAIRED CAVALRYMAN — SKETCHES OF OTHER COM- 
MANDERS — THE VALUE OF CAVALRY — DESTROYING RAILROADS. 

When the Civil War began, Lieutenant-General Scott, then in com- 
mand of the army, was quite hostile to the organization of a large cav- 
alry force. The men of the West, especially, w^ere anxious for mounted 
service. Naturally they desired this, for outside the cities and towns — 
both smaller, and the towns not so numerous as now^ — the young men of 
America were all horsemen. They may not have had the" cavalry seat," 
but they all knew how to ride. It was this fact that made the transfer so 
easy in the West of large bodies of infantry into a very efficient cavalry 
army. And in that fact may be seen another, and that is, that our 
mounted force did a large proportion of its serious fighting on foot. 
The utility of the service was in its celerity and activity. The cavalry 
soldier, properly handled, is the eye and hand of an army. He should 
be the embodiment of the perceptive faculties, used by the reason to 
base action upon. The value of cavalry in all modern warfare has been 
greatly enhanced by the large experiences earned in the slave-holders' 
rebellion. The Southern military authorities were open from the out- 
set to the value of the mounted soldier. They made of the service a 
special feature, by requiring the cavalryman to furnish his own horse. 
From the first, then, the Confederates outnumbered us in that direction. 
It took two years of actual warfare to make our War Department see the 
great need of this special service. And it was under Sheridan's fight- 
ing quality that it received the first marked impetus. The Booneville 
battle, and raid on the Mobile and Ohio railroad were the first marked 



238 



THE LIFE OF 



incidents of that character on our side. Tlie utility of cavahy in the 
destruction of communications, as well as in developing an enemy's 
movements, was then made apparent. Rosecrans was first among 
Union generals to improvise a cavalry force — mounted infantry, under 
the dashing Wilder, being first employed in the Army of the Cumber- 
land, after the battle of Stone River. Generals Stanley, St. George 
Cooke, and Stoneman, of the regular army, had already made very 
efficient the small force of volunteer cavahy which red tape and techni- 
cal theories had allowed to be recruited and organized. Out of these 
regiments came some of the most capable and brilliant commanders of 
the war, especially of those who under Grant and Sheridan were 
enabled, during its last year of daring deeds and tremendous conflicts, 
to accomplish so much in and with the Army of the Potomac for the 
closing triumph of the Union cause. 

Another force that tended, when the war was well underway and 
sweeping in its fulness over the vast continental field of its action, was 
the fact that so large an area was embraced within the border states, 
divided as they were between the two camps. Bush-whacking by Con- 
federate partisans in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and 
elsewhere, rendered necessary resisting organization as active as that 
of the guerrillas, who, mounted, were here and there as if in a flash, and 
being well informed by their neighborhood allies, were able to make 
of partisan fighters like Moseby in Virginia, Morgan and Duke in 
Tennessee and Kentuck}', and even Qiiantrell in Missouri, a most 
formidable obstacle to Union success. As a consequence of this, the 
enrolled Union militia of the border states soon became in large pro- 
portion, a mounted force, trained to fight as infantry, but moving as 
cavalry. A notable example of this was seen in the fall of 1864, when 
Sterling Price, with some eighteen thousand mounted men, invaded 
Missouri and the Kansas borders, increasing his force to some thirty 
thousand, and was met, defeated, and driven out by the mounted forces, 
never over eight thousand in action, and usually not more than five 
thousand, of the Departments of Kansas and Missouri, commanded by 
Generals Alfred Pleasonton, James G. Blunt, Moonlight, Winslow, C. H. 
Blair, Phelps, Cloud, and others. The same lesson was learned when 
Moi-gan and Duke crossed the Ohio River and invaded parts of Indiana 
and Ohio. It was the mounted forces that poured upon them in their 
retreat through Kentucky, — that pounded their reeling lines into shat- 
tered fragments. It was the cavalry under that sturdy trooper. General 
Grierson, that utterly destroyed the Mobile and Ohio railroad with its 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



2^9 



adjuncts. 
It was Sher- 
man's cav- 
airy, or 
rather his 
' ' b u m - 
mers" — the 
a d V e n t u - 
rous spirit 
of thatgreat 
army which 
could not be 
restrained, 
and risked 
all to see 
and know 
more than 
their fel- 
lows on the 
"marc h 
to the 
sea ," and 
" through 
the Caro- 
1 i n a s" — 
that so suc- 
cessfu 1 ly 
proved the 




GEN. JAMES H. WILSON, 



ONE OF SHERIDAN'S FAMOUS GENERALS. HE CONDUCTED THE LAST GREAT 
RAID IN WHICH JEFFERSON DAVIS WAS CAPTURED. 



Confedera- 
cy to be " a 

hollow shell," by destroying all the means of communication and trans- 
portation they could reach. It was General James H. Wilson, trained 
in Virginia under Sheridan, whose splendid execution of the last great 
cavalry raid in the Central South, beginning at Limestone, in Northern 
Alabama, and closing in Georgia with the capture of Jefferson Davis 
by Michigan and Wisconsin cavalrymen, under Colonels Pritchard and 
La Grange, that effectually destroyed the possibility of further Confed- 
erate resistance after Appomattox, within the Cotton and Gulf States 
at least. 

The cavalry service bred commanders, it seems. On our side there 



240 THE LIFE OF 

may at a glance be named, McClellan, Franklin, Thomas, Reynolds, 
Granger, Stanley, Sykes, Sturgis, Frederick Steele, McPherson, 
Philip St. George Cooke, Kautz, Ord, Crook, Kilpatrick, Fleas- 
onton, Burnside, Merritt, Torbett, Wilson, Averill, Custer, Grierson, 
and many another who graduated at West Point and entered the cav- 
alry arm of the service before and during the Civil War. 

There is a marvelous fascination in it. The wondrous activity, the 
ceaseless daring, the constant danger, the perpetual adventure, the free- 
dom of motion, the companionship of man and horse, the open-air life, 
the responsibility, also, — all combined to give to the cavalryman's life 
a keener zest, and a large place in the administration of an army. " The 
tented field" soon became a myth to the Union soldier on horseback. 
He might or might not carry a shelter tent ; but all he wanted was on 
his horse. The wagon train was gradually replaced, especially in the 
western cavalry, by pack-mules. The call to "boots and saddle" 
found them always ready, and the clear, resonant notes of the "charge " 
tightened every rein, steeled every nerve, and made every man and 
horse part of a terrible machine of war, and yet an individuality that 
was full of character and freedom. It was the constant chance of per- 
sonal freedom of action that gave to our cavalrymen such aplomb and 
dash. 

It was in 1S64, however, under Gi'ant, and commanded in person by 
Sheridan, that the cavalry gained such high renown, proving itself to 
be of the greatest consequence. What a consociation of brain and 
will, of courage and power, of physique and character, was wrought 
into the cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac. Kilpatrick and 
Pleasonton, notable and noted men — the latter, especially, a fine organ- 
izer ; the first a skillful, ambitious, and audacious fighter. Farns- 
worth, Lowell, Putnam, Dahlgren, Russell, among many as worthy, 
are names that flow to one's pen as types of the earlier cavaliers of the 
Union, fighting in Virginia. 

When Sheridan assumed command, on the 4th of May, 1S64, of the 
cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, he found himself at the head of three 
divisions, reporting something over ten thousand effectives for duty. 
Its organization had been perfected under Stoneman and Pleasonton, 
and it had done some most excellent service, but neither of its earlier 
leaders had succeeded in impressing himself sufficiently upon the army 
or its commanding generals, to secure that independent administration 
and care for the cavalry necessary to make it a prime factor in the cam- 
paigns which had taken place. It had the preponderance of numbers 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 241 

and a decided advantage in equipment, but the Confederate cavalry 
liad a higher morale^ and had so far counted for much more in the 
operations of the army to which it belonged. Indeed, notwithstanding 
the gallant deeds of Bayard, Kilpatrick, Gregg, and of many junior 
officers, our cavalry was not in military eyes " a thing of beauty and 
a joy forever." General Hooker once perpetrated the cruel joke of 
declaring he would offer a reward for a dead cavalryman, and Meade 
himself told Sheridan it was no use talking of Stuart, as he would do 
as he pleased anyhow — a statement which a short time later, the little 
commander reversed by defeating the Confederate cavalry and leaving 
its leader dead on the field. 

There was incapacity somewhere. It certainly was not all with 
the cavalry, for the same men were plumed with success when led by 
the master. Sheridan found over half the cavalry on picket duty, with 
a line of vedettes covering the army within sight of the infantry pickets 
and of each other, and extending from left to right nearly fifty miles. 
Such service had been exacted all winter. This is sufficient to prove 
that the bad condition of the corps was not altogether the fault of its 
officers. His first measure was to reduce the picket line, call in the 
detachments, get extra duty men returned to their, regiments, secure 
remounts, new equipments and arms, and bend every energy to repair 
damages and put the command in condition to take the field with the 
rest of the army. In just one month from the day he took command 
the army crossed the Rapidan, and from that time onward there was 
never a word of censure for the cavalry corps. It covered the army's 
front, flank, and rear wherever and whenever it moved, but it was no 
longer broken up into detachments or strung out on useless picket lines. 
It became at once a compact fighting corps, and as such inflicted con- 
stant and irreparable injury upon the enemy. Fighting on foot, it 
assaulted and carried the enemy's intrenched positions, or held its own, 
whenever occasion required it. Mounted and moving rapidly, it seized 
strategic positions, or threw itself upon the enemy's flanks and rear, 
broke his communications, destroyed his ti"ansportation, burned his 
supplies, threatened his capital, and finally at Yellow Tavern met and 
overthrew his cavalry, and killed J. E. B. Stuart, its most competent 
and daring leader. 

No cavalry corps ever did liarder or better work than Sheridan's 
command from the first of May till the end of July, 1864. It scarcely 
ever rested by daylight from marching or fighting, and, what is still 
more cvxrious, its efficiency and spirit constantly grew, till it came to 

16 



242 THE LIFE OF 

regard itself as invincible. Whether by night or by day, it was always 
ready, and responded promptly and cheerfully to every demand made 
upon it. Whatever despondency was elsewhere felt, there was never 
a day till the war ended when Sheridan's cavalry did not go forth cheer- 
fully, even gaily, to its appointed tasks. This was doubtless due in 
part to the greater freedom of action allowed it by General Grant, 
but it is simple justice to add also, that a much greater part of it was 
due to the untiring industry, the unflinching courage, the watchful 
care, and, above all, to the cheerful alacrity with which General Sheri- 
dan performed his own duties, and inspired every officer and man in 
his command to perform theirs. 

Sheridan was, at the time he commanded the cavalry corps of the 
Army of the Potomac, in his thirt3'-third year. He weighed about one 
hundred and thirty pounds, but was as hardy and wiry as a wild Indian. 
Always neatly but never foppishly dressed, indeed, scarcely ever dressed 
in the regulation uniform of his rank, he was as natty and attractive a 
figure as could be found in the whole army. W^ith a clear and flashing 
eye, a bronzed and open countenance, an alert and active carriage, he 
appeared at all times and under all conditions a bright and cheerful 
figure, ready for any undertaking which might fall to his lot. He was 
the prince of subordinate commanders, and by his unfailing alacrity 
won his way straight to the confidence of those in authority over him. 
Knowing well how to obey, he was able also to command. 

The solid men were around and with Sheridan. Their work in 
the Valley of the Shenandoah proved this. General Averill, as chief 
of staff', established his reputation in administration, as well as fighting. 
The disposal of the somewhat vaunted Rosser illustrates the mettle of 
our troopers. The typical cavalry fighting of the valley was had after 
Early's defeat at Fisher's Hill. Rosser, however, could not be 
restrained. His force was greatly outnumbered, but the feelings of 
himself and men were excited to a terrible pitch of fury by the awful, 
if necessary destruction which Sheridan spread all over the Valley of 
Virginia. Kershaw's division of cavalry, from Lee's army, arrived at 
Early's headquarters, just as Sheridan commenced a leisurely return, 
after Fisher's Hill and its subsequent pursuit down the valley, to his 
own base of operations. 

It gave new hope to the defeated rebels, and new fury to Rosser's 
determination. The Confederate cavalry followed us down the valley, 
watching, like enraged hawks, for an occasion to swoop upon our rear. 
They made constant attacks, not dangerous in results, but annoying in 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 24^ 

character. The sturdy Wesley Merritt was watched and struck at 
when possible, by Lomax and Johnson, while Rosser marked the 
golden-haired Custer for his quarry, striking, however uselessly, with 
vindictive tenacity. Sheridan at last decided to halt one day and make 
an end of "this new cavalry commander." There was a grim humor 
in this announcement, like all of his dispatches of the period. 

The first night of the march, Rosser fell on Custer's camp at Turkey- 
town, near Brook's Gap. He was handsomely repulsed. All the next 
day, as Custer moved leisurely to Columbia Furnace, his rear guard 
was fighting Rosser's advance. The main body, in column of fours, 
moved in the road. To the right and left detached parties burned every 
barn and haystack to be seen. The rear guard followed at a slow walk, 
the greater part deployed as skirmishers. When the enemy pressed 
too close the men would halt and face about, and a brisk fusilade would 
last some minutes, till the advancing "gray-backs" were repulsed. 
Trotting onward, our rear guard would halt on the next hill or belt of 
woods, to repeat the operation. 

The rear guard did its constant fighting under the brilliant eves of 
its debonair and dashing commander, Custer, whose gay uniform and 
that of his staff', with the bright, brazen instruments of the field band, 
and the dark bronze of the bugles borne in his group of orderlies and 
attendants, made a constant figure in the landscape, lurid with smoke, 
bright with autumnal foliage, and lovely in its wonderful picturesque- 
ness. Custer's band was always a feature of his movements. They 
might not be the best of players, but they could blow " Yankee Doodle," 
" Rally Round the Flag, Boys," and " Glory, Glory, Hallelujah," with 
a martial vim, amid showers of whistling lead, that gave heart to the 
fighters, if it did not win the plaudits of hypercritical musicians. The 
scarlet necktie and golden locks of Custer were always followed by his 
band and buglers, all of whom showed their ability at times to both 
give blows as well as to "blow their own horns." Rosser's men fell 
back when Custer galloped towards the rear. That 7th of October was 
full of annoyance. Custer was outnumbered, Rosser having 3.500 
to our 2,500 men, Merritt's column was allowed by Lomax and John- 
son to move on its work with but little molestation. He had about 
twenty-five hundred effectives. General Powell, with 2,000 men, was 
off' to the right, following the Luray Valley, and separated from the 
main command by hills and gaps. On the 8th, General Torbett, com- 
manding the division, determined to relieve Custer of the constant strain 
of Rosser's pushing. One of Merritt's brigades was sent forward a mile 
or so to develop Lomax. 



244 THE LIFE OF 

The experience ot three days had encouraged the confident Rosser. 
Custer had been steadily falling back in the face of a superior force, 
who fancied they were driving him. The arrival of Merritt's brigade 
checked Rosser, after some severe fighting, which ceased at dark, when 
Merritt withdrew to liis own camp. That night '' Little Phil" came 
up to see how things were going. His orders were brief. " He must 
get a lesson," was what he said of Rosser. 

General Torbett's report says : '' On the night of the Slh, I received 
orders from ISIajor-General Sheridan to start at daylight and whip the 
rebel cavalry, or get whipped myself." Our infantry was concentrated 
at Strasburg ; the cavalry was to the south, in front of that place. 
Merritt was ordered forward with three brigades, one on the pike, 
and two to the left of it, and to get into communication with Custer. 
The movement begun at break o'day has since been known as the 
"• Woodstock Races." Both commands were nearly equal, a slight 
advantage being on our side. Custer had chafed under his position. 
Now, side by side, he and Merritt — honorable rivals for honors, com- 
rades in a common cause — swept out together to -attack Rosser and 
Lomax. Rosser was Custer's classmate at West Point. ThelSIichigander 
swooped onward against the Virginian. On the pike moved that steady 
old reserve brigade — "'the regulars." Next to them was the Second 
(Deven's brigade), with " Old Tommy," or the " Old War Horse," as 
he was called, at its head. Then the Michigan men (Custer's First 
Brigade) connected Merritt's line with that of their former division. 
The Union line was perfect, and all were anxious to pay ofi'the enemy. 

On the other side of Tom's Run — a little stream easily passed — our 
boys found Rosser and Lomax in line of battle and eager for the fray. 
The Confederates were elated and overconfident. Their main position 
was well chosen, occupying a low but abrupt range of hills on the 
south side of the little run. His dismounted men were strongly posted 
behind stone fences at the base of the ridge he occupied. On the 
crown was a line of extemporized works, where, with six guns, he 
waited the coming attack, and had the advantage of seeing all of Cus- 
ter's movements. Both sides deployed within plain view of each other, 
and the skirmishers opened with their carbines. Long lines of horse- 
men trotted on, loading as they went. Batteries galloped up, unlim- 
bering on the first little knoll that presented itself, opening fire, 
and mingling their crashing reports with the sharp crack of the repeat- 
ing rifles. 

Custer rode from his staft' out between the lines, and taking ofi' his 
sombrero^ made a profound bow to his antagonist and shouted : 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 24$ 

"Let's have a fair tight, boys; no malice." 

Rosser said to his men : 

" You see that Yank down there bowing? Well, that's Custer that 
the Yanks are so proud of, and I'm going to give him tlie best whip- 
ping he ever got, — see if I don't I " 

Again Custer's hat was lifted, and the tight began. The rebel guns 
opened furiously at short range. The hail of lead became heavier. 
The trot in our lines turned into a gallop. Sabres were drawn. The 
gray steel flashed in the October sun. The bugles blared their 
brazen clangor. A loud shout pealed forth, every throat joining in 
the hoarse outgoing. Away sped our lines. Apparentlv they were 
but a whirling confusion of groups, dashing in isolation and without 
order, on stone walls, made alive by curling lines of blue smoke, 
as the crack, crack of cavalry carbines mingled with the roar of field 
guns above and behind our forward, dashing, roaring lines. The 
charge was a success: — Custer's dashes always were. The column 
deployed in order — one regiment to the front, one to the right, and the 
other to the left. " Forward the line I " Sabres swinging, away thev 
w^ent, striking right at the centre and curling round Rosser's flanks, as 
if in a moment. Before he knew what had happened, his position was 
inclosed in a semicircle of charging horses and flashing sabres. The 
Confederates became demoralized at once. In spite of Rosser's every 
eflbrt, his whole line broke and fled in the wildest confusion, running 
for two miles, until, in ver}- shame, one brigade turned at Rosser's fran- 
tic appeals, and succeeded in staying in an orderly retreat, what but a 
few moments before had been an utterly beaten rabble. A battery was 
got into position. Custer's advance, flushed and careless with victory, 
was rudely halted by its Are and driven into momentary confusion. 
Seizing the moment, Rosser charged with his remaining brigatle and 
forced Custer back half a mile. Then a battery of four guns made its 
appearance, and again checked Rosser. Disappointed in his charge, 
Rosser trusted to a defensive battle, while Custer re-formed his three 
brigades for a second grand charge, and once more advanced. 

It fared ill with Rosser and his men that they received- this charge 
at a halt, and trusted to a heavy fire for their defense. It did not stop 
the Union advance for a second. Through the dust and confusion of 
its charge was seen, far in advance, another cloud of dust out of which 
shone the glittering horseshoes, as the rebel squadrons fled. Behind 
them w"as nothing but an open field as far as Mount Jackson, twentv- 
six miles away. Ever}' gun opposite Custer was taken, and onlv onfe 



246 THE LIFE OF 

of Lomax' escaped. It was no longer a fight. The "Woodstock 
Races" had begun. All the way to Mount Jackson the Confederates 
flew before the Union soldiers like frightened sheep. The battle was 
over, Custer was ahead, first and last. There was always a little con- 
tention between Merritt and Custer about it, but the men never 
doubted. 

The Confederate cavalry commander, Rosser, was undoubtedly a 
brave and eflicient officer. He was never known, however, to accept 
defeat gracefully. To this day he has remained bitter, as the follow- 
ing, dated the 4th of May, 1887, and written to Major Holmes Con- 
rad, of Winchester, Virginia, will show : 

My Dear Major : I have seen it reported recently in the news- 
papers that General P. H. Sheridan, United States Army, contem- 
plates, at an early day, another ride up the Shenandoah Valley. I had 
hoped that our beautiful valley would never again be desecrated by his 
footprints. Cold, cruel, and brutal must be the character of this soldier 
who fondly cherishes memories of the wild, wanton waste and desola- 
tion which his bai'barous torch spread through the valley, laying in 
ashes the beautiful and happy homes of innocent women, young and 
helpless children, and aged men, and who over these ruins boasted that 
" now a crow cannot fly over this valley without carrying its rations." 
General Sheridan has done nothing since the war to atone for his bar- 
barism during the war. We have not forgotten that during his reign 
in New Orleans he asked that our fellow-citizens of Louisiana might 
be proclaimed banditti in order that he might set the dogs of war on 
them. I have forgiven the brave men of the Union armies whom I met 
in honorable battle, and who finally triumphed over us in the great 
struggle. Among them I can now name many of my warmest and 
truest and most-prized friends. They are good and true to me, and 
think none the less of us for having fought them. Indeed, they esteem 
him highest among us who fought them the hardest. Sheridan is not 
one of this kind, and he never accorded to us that peace which Grant 
proclaimed. I now say to you, my dear major, and to our gallant 
comrades who are now in the valley, that I hope you will allow this 
man to make his triumphant ride up the valley in peace, but have him 
go like the miserable crow, carrying his rations with him. 

Yours truly, Thos. L. Rosser. 

This letter caused a great sensation, as it was written at the very 
time when Massachusetts soldiers were being entertained in Richmond, 
and was a rare instance of a Southern man of high standing waving the 
bloody shirt. The leading newspapers North and South denounced 
General Rosser's letter. General Sheridan had only this to say of it : 

" Rosser has not forgotten the whaling I gave him in the valley, 
and I am not surprised that he loses his temper when he recalls it. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 247 

Occasionally Rosser would come across small detachments of our 
troops and would swoop down on them. Finally it was reported to me 
that General Rosser had captured my pack train. This made me mad. 
Halting the entire army right in the road, I galloped to the rear, deter- 
mined to settle Rosser. I found the train was not captured, but was 
coming in considerably scattered and broken up. I told Torbett I 
wanted Rosser cleaned out, and that if he could not do it I would take 
his division and do it myself. I concluded that I would remain and see 
the work performed, and so informed Torbett. The following morn- 
ing Torbett went after Rosser, whose brigade was struck with an im- 
petuosity that caused it to scatter. We stripped the enemy of everything 
they had captured ; all their guns except one, which subsequently fell 
into our hands, and all their baggage, including the personal effects of 
Rosser. It was a regular frolic for our boys. Torbett pursued Rosser 
a distance of twenty-five miles. He did not trouble me further." 

George Armstrong Custer was an embodied apotheosis of war — 
the very representative of a cavalry fighter. Like Sheridan, Sherman, 
and Grant, he was from Ohio. But he went to West Point from 
Michigan. He was born in 1839, and died at Rosebud, Dakota, in 1876, 
in his thirty-seventh year, slain in battle by the Sioux Indians. When 
the Rebellion began, Custer was twenty-one, and in his last year at the 
military academy. His was the class advanced a year in its graduation. 
Six feet in height, finely proportioned, small hands and feet, narrow 
hips and broad shoulders, thoroughly abstemious in habits, a blonde of 
the viking type, with handsome face and fine life-full eyes, Lieutenant 
Custer, when sent for service in the field to McClellan's army, was the 
beau ideal of a soldier. He weighed in the vigor of his service but 
170 pounds. His head and face were long; his face was always sun- 
tanned, the eyes were blue, and the hair and mustache a deep gold. 
A man of immense powers of endurance, mental, as well as physical, 
he had always in hand all his powers. In '62 he was made captain. 
In '63 a brevet brigadier, and in '64 he was made a brigadier-general of 
volunteers. He was then in his twenty-fourth year. Before he was 
twenty-five he was made major-general. After the war he was made 
lieutenant-colonel of the Seventh Cavalry. In June, '63, he assumed 
command of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, comi'nanding it at Gettys- 
burg. He was wounded at Culpepper. In Sheridan's raid around Rich- 
mond, May, 1S64, he showed especial capacity and courage. In Sheri- 
dan's second raid, the Michigan brigade, under Custer, made a splendid 
fisrht at Trevilian Station. He was brevetted colonel in the regular 



248 THE LIFE OF 

army, September 19, 1S64, for his gallantry at Winchester, and for that 
and the Fisher's Hill battles he was, October 19th, brevetted major-gen- 
eral of volunteers. On the 30th of September, 1864, Custer assumed 
command of his famous division, and with it fought on the 9th of Octo- 
ber, against his classmate. General Rosser, the brilliant battle of Wood- 
stock. He was first in the attack at Cedar Creek. In the decisive 
movements of the next year, Custer's division fought and won the 
battle of Waynesboro'. He was brevetted brigadier-general in the reg- 
ular army for services at Five Forks and Dinwiddle. What he was as 
a cavalry commander may be seen by the congratulatory order to his 
troops, dated Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865, in which he 
congratulates them on having, during six months of continuous fighting, 
often against great odds, captured in open battle, iii field guns, sixty- 
five battle-flags, and upwards of ten thousand prisoners, including 
seven general oflicers. He wrote : " You have never lost a gun, never 
lost a color, and never been defeated," and "• have captured every piece 
of artillery which the enemy has dared to open upon you." Custer 
was a fine writer, and a man of varied resources. The stories told ot 
him are interesting. How he attracted men can be seen in the follow- 
ing incident, which brought him to McClellan's notice : 

On the 23d of May, 1862, McClellan's army had arrived at the banks 
of the Chickahominy, some seven miles north of Richmond. No one 
knew anything of the river's depth. General Barnard, chief engineer, 
started oft' at once to reconnoitre. Custer being oft' staff' duty, hap- 
pened to be around, and not knowing who he was, Barnard beckoned 
him to come along. When they got through the swamps along the 
shore, and came to the river, General Barnard said to the subordinate : 
"Jump in." The order was instantly obeyed, and Custer forded the 
stream, expecting every minute to be fired upon by the enemy's pickets 
on the other side. All around was quite unknown, and he had drawn 
his revolver and held it up over his head (he was up to his arm-pits in 
the water), ready for anything. The general, in his report, called it 
" firm bottom," but as he did not wade in himself, it was not very 
technical. Custer got over to the other side, and hunted through the 
bushes, and all along the beach, until Barnard, becoming nervous, made 
signals for him to return. They were ignored until the lieutenant 
satisfied himself there was no enemy around. He then forded back. 
Barnard was so pleased that he ordered Custer to attend him to head- 
quarters. The lieutenant had been in Washington the winter before, 
and spent all his money. He was shabbily clothed — indeed, rags were 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 249 

to be seen — and, muddy and dripping, made a poor figure among the 
showy ones of the little Napoleon's staff'. The stuff' that was in him 
put all that aside. McClellan questioned the growing soldier, and ended 
by asking him to accept a position on his staff'. Till the day of his 
death, McClellan was first in Custer's affections. 

In a very short time he received his appointment, and became Cap- 
tain Custer. He now begged to be allowed, to take over some men 
and capture^ the pickets on the other bank of the river. At the time 
appointed, in the gray of the morning, he found his detail waiting, and 
rode down to the Chickahominy. As the light grew stronger, he sud- 
denly heard some one say : ^' Well, I want to know ! Ain't that 
Custer? " " Why, by gracious, it's Armstrong ! How are you, Arm- 
strong? Give us your fist, old fellow." He had by a strange chance 
fallen into the midst of Company A, Fourth Michigan Infantry, a 
company raised at JMonroe, his own home, and composed of all his old 
schoolmates. • 

" Well, boys, I am glad to see you ; you don't know how glad. But 
I'll tell you I'm too busy to talk now, except to say this: All Mon- 
roe boys follow me. Stick to me and I'll stick to you ! Come ! " 

And he rode into the water, followed by cries of " That's us, Arm- 
strong," "You bet we'll follow." And they did — and Custer captured 
that morning the first Confederate battle-flag taken ])y a force of the 
Army of the Potomac. 

During one of the movements across the Rappahannock, Custer, 
commanding the Michigan brigade, found himself suddenly cut off" 
from the main command by a body of =5,000 "gray-backs." Custer 
looked at them for a few seconds with his peculiar planning glance, 
and then shouted, rising in his stirrups and waving his hat above his 
head : 

" Boys of Michigan, there are some people between us and home. 
I'm going home ! who else goes?" 

They all went, of course, following Custer's yellow locks, cleaving 
a clear path right through the enemy. When they came "out of the 
woods," Kilpatrick, the division commander, rode up and asked : " Cus- 
ter, what ails you?" " Oh, nothing," said Custer; "only we want 
to cook our coff'ee on the Yank side of the Rappaliannock, and not at 
Libby and Andersonville." 

When, on the iith of May, 1S64, the Union cavalry corps was 
within four miles of Richmond on the Brook's pike, Custer was in the 
advance. It was in this campaign that Sheridan or Torbett commenced 



2^o THE LIFE OF 

the practice of giving Custer the advance, knowing he w^ould not fail 
them. The fight was soon on, and hotly, too. Stuart was in Sheri- 
dan's front, determined to stay his advance. It was in the engagement 
that swiftly ensued that the Confederate cavalry leader was slain. 
Here is the story : 

On reaching some woods to his front, Custer ordered Colonel 
Alger, of Michigan, to establish the Fifth and Sixth Michigan Cavalry 
upon a line near the skirt of the woods, and hold his position till fur- 
ther orders. Being so ordered, Alger, with his Fifth Michigan, dij'ove 
the enemy through the timber to the opening. Then the order was 
given to cease firing. Just at that instant, a Confederate officer, who 
afterward proved to be General J. E. B. Stuart, rode up with his staff 
to within four hundred yards of the line, when a man of the Fifth fired 
at him. John A. Huff", of Company A, remarked : " Tom, you fired 
too low " ; and turning to Colonel Alger, who stood near, he said : 

" Colonel, I can fetch that man." 

"Try him," said Alger. 

Huff took steady aim over a fence, and fired. The officer fell. 
Huff turned to the colonel, and coolly said : "There's a spread eagle 
for you." Huff was killed a month later at Cold Harbor. 

A volume might easily be filled with similar stories. Custer stands 
in history as the ideal American cavalryman, and for that reason this 
description has been written, not with the idea of slighting the others, 
gallant, able, and true, who were his comrades. But it were invid- 
ious still, not to mention the men who made the Union cavalry so fa- 
mous, as well as so important an arm of the service, teaching thereby 
new lessons in the art of war. 

Major-General Crook deserves especial mention, for though he 
gained honorable renown as a corps commander, he was then as he 
still is, essentially a cavalry leader. A classmate and intimate of Sher- 
idan himself, it was good fortune for both that brought them together 
again in the closing year of the war. Crook has won, by sheer service 
and hard fighting, the highest rank now known to the American Army. 
He comes, next to Sheridan himself, to the bean ideal of a regular 
soldier. He is now, as in the Civil War, simple, untiring, energetic, 
full of resources, and of the most rock-bound stubbornness of courage. 
Since the war closed, as an Indian fighter he has had more than his 
share of hard service and fighting. His experiences with the Apaches, 
both in fighting and using them as soldiers, have been among the most 
remarkable of any army officer. George Crook is in his fifty-eighth 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 2^1 

year ; a man just above middle stature, of remarkably compact, mus- 
cular frame, and without superfluous flesh. He is a gray blonde, with 
long and broad head, a long face, with Roman nose, strong but not 
heavy jaw, of few words, and possessed of a pair of the keenest and 
clearest of gray eyes. 

Colonel J. W. Forsyth, Brevet Brigadier-General, United States 
Army, of the Seventh Cavalry, is another of Sheridan's " boys." He 
was a classmate of his old commander, and was his intimate, friend 
and staff' officer for years. Forsyth is a great contrast in figure and 
height to General Sheridan, but no two men ever supplemented each 
other more closely. Forsyth is a splendid trooper. His brother, G. S. 
Forsyth, known far and wide as " Sandy," was a young staff' officer in 
the valley, and a dashing one, also. He proved, during Sheridan's 
Indian campaign of i86S, the stuff' of which he was composed by his 
remarkable fight on the open prairie, with a very few companions, 
against a large force of hostile Indians. Captain Forsyth, with another 
officer and their orderlies, was cut ofl' from the main commands Sur- 
rounded on all sides, without water, they made a double rifle-pit with 
their swords and bayonets, and successfully beat oft' the savage Kiowas 
for over two days. Some of the party at least were killed ; all were 
severely wounded, but the remainder were rescued alive, and recov- 
ered. 

General James H. Wilson, a young West Pointer when the Civil 
War began, was fortunate to be upon the staff' of Major-General Grant 
at the siege of Vicksburg, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He 
was early detailed to duties of importance, requiring the individual 
judgment, generally in engineer work, and planning or superintend- 
ing constructions. In the Chattanooga he was sent to Knoxville to give 
Burnside a clear view of the situation, and was accompanied on his 
dangerous trip by Charles A. Dana, Assistant Secretary of War, who 
volunteered for the service. He was, on Grant's transfer to the East, 
made a brigadier-general, and under Sheridan commanded a division 
of cavalry. Grant always had confidence in his judgment, coolness, 
and courage. His military history up to the fall of 1864, was part of 
that of the Army of the Potomac and its cavalry corps. There was 
then a necessity to organize extensive raids in the Central South. By 
October of that year the pounding and breaking process had to be 
made more eff'ectual in that section. Wilson was sent to Thomas, with 
orders to remount and reorganize 10,000 dismounted cavalrymen. He 
speedily made them eff'ectives, and was in the field until his troopers 



2^2 THE LIFE OF 

captured Jefferson Davis himself, in the latter part of April, 1S65. 
No more capable leader was to be found in the Union Army than Gen- 
eral Wilson. He was not as brilliantly sensational as Custer, or as 
stubbornly indiflerent in the field as the Pennsylvanian, General Gregg, 
but he was a thoroughly competent and fully trained soldier, who grew 
to the measure of every occasion. He showed decided ability for inde- 
pendent command in his operations through the Central South. 

General McKenzie, the youngest officer of commanding rank now 
in the regular army, rose into great prominence both as a cavalry 
division and corps commander with the Army of the James, especially 
so in the closing war raids and campaign in Virginia. Grant paid 
him what is a very remarkable tribute, considering that at the period 
whereof he writes, General McKenzie could not have been over twenty- 
four years of age — younger, even, than Custer : " I regarded McKen- 
zie as the most promising young officer of the war. Graduating at 
West Point, as he did, during the second year of the war, he had won 
his way up to the command of a corps before its close. This he did 
upon his own merit and without influence."* Not all the dashing and 
competent cavalrymen were from the regular army, though. A con- 
siderable number came from the city, as well as the farm ; from civil 
life, as well as West Point. There was Russell A. Alger, of Michigan,, 
who looks like one of Napoleon's marshals. Colonel Briggs, of the 
same state, is another, whose reputation as regimental commander is 
among the first. General David McM. Gregg, of Pennsylvania, who 
stepped from civil life into the command of a regiment, and almost 
immediately of a brigade, proved himself to be one of the best of cav- 
alry commanders. " Old Steady " was his nickname, and he showed 
his cool Scotch blood at every turn. Another civilian who proved 
that he had the making of a fine soldier, is Colonel Benjamin R. 
Grierson, now commanding a regular cavalry regiment, whose great 
raid on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, in 1863, had so advantageous 
an influence on the Vicksburg campaign of General Grant. 

The names and memories flock to the brain, and are flowing to the 
pen. Averill, gallant soldier, who had the early disadvantage of being 
associated with the first defeats of the peninsula and under Sigel, 
Fremont, and Hunter in the Shenandoah, but who fully proved his 
capacity when rightly directed. Torbett, too, commander of Sheridan's 
first division when the Army of the Potomac moved across theRapidan ; 

* Memoirs, Vol. II., p. 541. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 29^ 

his chief of cavahy in the valley and on the march to City Point by way 
of Charlottesville, against Lee. Sturdy Wesley Merritt, swinging 
always to the front, never failing in any emergency ; chief of cavalry 
on the final campaign, contesting all honors with Custer, and proving 
his capacity in all positions. Brigadier-General Merritt has fully won 
and deservedly wears his star in the regular army. There were " Okl 
Tommy " Deven and Davies, both West Pointers, and, as it were, 
born into the army. The canvas crowds with names: Lowell, the 
young and gallant son of New England ; Putnam, adding lustre to an 
honored name ; General Duffie, of " Little Rhody," the dashing, gal- 
lant, and handsome Franco- American, who so gallantly served his adopted 
country and state. He proved himself a fine cavalryman, and in the 
earlier years of the war was quite conspicuous. Major McClellan, of 
Stuart's statl', in his life of that Confederate commander, reports a severe 
fight in which Colonel A. N. Dufiie, then commanding the First Rhode 
Island Cavalry, in 1862, was engaged. Colonel Duf?ie moved out with 
orders for an extended scout on the left flank of General Gregg's 
division, crossing the Bull Run Mountain by way of Thoroughfare Gap. 
His command was to encamp at Middleburg on the same night, but at 
4 p. M. encountered Stuart's pickets, and at once became engaged in a 
severe fight. The pickets were followed so sharply as to cause Stuart 
to fall back on Rector's cross-road. Had Duffie been well informed 
of what was in his front, he could have inflicted considerable damao-e 
and got away safely. He dispatched to Kilpatrick for aid, and held on, 
fighting fiercely for three hours, till he was attacked by Robertson's 
brigade ; retreated, and was met and struck by Chambers. The won- 
der is, says the Confederate writer, who gives Colonel Duffie great 
credit here and elsewhere for military skill, as well as courage, that he 
got away at all. The regiment lost 200 men, mostly as prisoners, but 
the colonel and some other officers, with the balance, cut their way 
through and escaped. Placed in command, Duffie was afterwards 
taken prisoner, exchanged, returned to the field,, and was killed in 
battle. 

One of the saddest episodes in one of these Virginian raids was the 
death of young Ulric Dahlgren. The rebel press sought at the time 
to fasten the odium on him and his command of an attempt to exe- 
cute unmilitary orders. Dahlgren was killed within the environs of 
Richmond, and his body, taken by the Confederates, was treated with 
gross indignities. It was asserted that papers were found on him 
ordering the burning of Richmond and the killing of Mr. Davis, with 



2^4 THE LIFE OF 

other acts claimed as outside the laws of war. The following is the 
Southern statement as to Colonel Dahlgren's reputed designs : 

" Upon the body of Colonel Dahlgren were found papers which 
disclosed the objects of his expedition. An address which was to be 
delivered to his troops, and which was signed with his official signa- 
ture, directed that the city of Richmond should be burned and destroyed, 
and that President Davis and his Cabinet should be killed. Another 
paper containing special orders and instructions, but without signature, 
made provision for the same course of conduct. Photographic copies 
of these papers were transmitted under flag of truce by General Lee to 
General Meade, and the inquiry was made whether the United States 
Government or Colonel Dahlgren's superior officers approved or sanc- 
tioned such orders." 

In his reply. General Meade denied that the United States Govern- 
men, himself, or General Kilpatrick had authorized, sanctioned, or 
approved the burning of the city of Richmond and the killing of Mr. 
Davis and Cabinet, or any other act not required by military necessity 
and in accordance with the usages of war. General Kilpatrick further 
stated that the officers of Colonel Dahlgren's command all testify that 
he issued no address whatever. General Kilpatrick added : 

" Colonel Dahlgren, one hour before we separated at my head- 
quarters, handed me an address that he intended to read to his com- 
mand. The pajDer was endorsed in red ink ' approved ' over my 
official signature. The photographic papers referred to are true copies 
of the papers approved by me, save so far as they speak of exhorting 
the prisoners to destroy and burn the hateful city, and kill the traitor 
Davis and his Cabinet, and in this, that they do not contain the endorse- 
ment referred to as having been placed by me on Colonel Dahlgren's 
papers. The colonel received no orders from me to pillage, burn, and 
kill, nor were any such instructions given me by my superiors." 

It was expected or hoped that Dahlgren's command might reach 
Libby Prison, Castle Thunder, and Belle Isle. The real address was 
prepared in expectation of the colonel's having the power to send it in 
by spies and other means. The denied portions thereof were undoubt- 
edly interpolated in order to re-fire the " Southern heart" and arouse 
hostility to the Union in the North. It was a ruse that failed, however. 

An idea of the service and of the importance it held may be seen in 
the service rendered chiefly by the cavalry. The importance of the 
cavalry in destroying lines of railroad communication was first sharply 
demonstrated by Sheridan himself at Booneville, Mississippi. It was 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 2^5- 

really an enlarged use of this branch of an army. Grierson came next, 
and his raid was of greater importance. On the Confederate side, 
Forrest, Wheeler, Morgan, and Duke were giving evidence of de- 
structive capacity. Sheridan followed again, and then Sherman's 
forces demonstrated their power. Grant describes the process of rail- 
road destruction as follows, while speaking chiefly of Sherman's move- 
ments : 

" Soldiers to do this rapidly would form a line along side of the 
road with crowbars and poles, place these under the rails and ties, and, 
hoisting all at once, turn over many rods of road at one time. The 
ties would then be placed in piles, and the rails as they would be 
loosened, would be carried and put across these log heaps. When 
a suflScient number of rails were placed upon a pile of ties it would be 
set on fire. This would heat the rails very much more in the middle^ 
that being over the main part of the fire, than at the ends, so that they 
would naturally bend of their own weight ; but the soldiers, to 
increase the damage would take tongs, and one or two men at each 
end of the rail, carry it with force against the nearest tree and twist it 
around. All this work went on at the same time," as a rule. 
" Some piled the logs and built the fire ; while others would bend the 
rails that were sufficiently heated ; so that, by the time the last bit of 
road was torn up, that it was destined to destroy at a certain place, the 
rails previously taken up were already destroyed."* 

So we might go on describing and illustrating. Some one should 
write the story in full of the cavalry service of the United States. In 
these pages the endeavor is made to give a glimpse, at least, of the 
"troopers" who served with " Little Phil," as well as of the general 
himself. The early technical soldierly advantages were at first with the 
Confederates in the cavalry organization. The Union side presented 
its quality more slowly, but its technique, courage, capacity, and endur- 
ance were superb when it swung into action. And to it all, as the 
scenes rise at Memory's command, may it not be said with Shakespeare : 

" Oh, farewell! 
Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump, 
The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife, 
The royal banner; and all quality, 
Piide, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war. 
And O, you mortal engines, whose rude throats 
The immortal Jove's dread clamors counterfeit, 
Farewell." 

♦Grant's Memoirs, Vol. II., p. 362. 




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Chapter XXI. 



FROM THE VALLEY TO CITY POINT. 

HOW SHERIDAN WENT BACK TO GRANT CLEARING THE LOUDOUN AND LURAY 

VALLEYS — GREAT IMPORTANCE OF SHERIDAN's NEW ORDERS — GRANT 
PREPARING FOR THE LAST FIGHTS — THE UPPER SHENANDOAH LEFT FREE 

OF A FOE CUSTER's BOLD FIGHT FOR ROCKFORD GAP EARLY' S ROUT AND 

DISAPPEARANCE SURRENDER OF CHARLOTTESVILLE DESTRUCTION OF 

THE JAMES RIVER CANAL BURNING BRIDGES BLOWING UP LOCKS DE- 
STROYING RAILROADS PANIC IN RICHMOND CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT 

READY TO TAKE HORSE-BACK AT CITY POINT — GRANT's ORDERS SHERI- 

DAN's DESIRE TO " END THE BUSINESS RIGHT HERE" THE WAY TO FIVE 

FORKS. 

The winter came on apace after Rosser was disposed of. Early, 
whirling down the valley, obtained no delay by Rosser's aid. The 
chill days were, however, made warm enough to horse and man by the 
constant activity the Confederate cavalry steadily displayed. Sheridan 
had disposed of a major part of his infantry. Wright and the Sixth Corps 
were returned to the army around Petersburg. The Ninth was sent to 
other duty. Crook, with the Nineteenth Corps, was kept in the Shen- 
andoah Valley. The men thereof were nearly all West Virginians. 
Averill's fine cavalry division was of the same material, and remained 
with Crook. 

The Valley of the Shenandoah runs from Harper's Ferry, on the 
Potomac, south by west, to the extreme corner of the Old Dominion, 
in that direction. Its west flank is the Shenandoah and Alleghany 
Mountains proper, and its eastern flank is made from the Blue Ridge 
range, on the east side of which are the rich fields of the Loudoun Val- 
ley, and the more picturesque one of Luray. The whole of Sheridan's 
fighting occurred in the upper valley, until after Early's last defeat at 
Strasburg and beyond. Lynchburg lies about eighty miles south by 
east of Winchester. It is about sixty miles west, by ten south, of Rich- 
mond. Topographically, it lies about ten miles east of the southern 
spurs of the Blue Ridge. 

On the 34th of November, 1864, Sheridan started General Wesley 
17 



2^8 



THE LIFE OF 



Merritt on an extended raid, for the purpose of destroying supplies, 
and preventing the concentration of any rebel forces to the east. He 
left Winchester on the zSth, and moved east through Ashby's Gap, in 
the Blue Ridge, towards Fairfax Court House, and thence to Centre- 
ville, Manassas, and other points easterly and north, attacking and 
driving Moseby's force, who made this region their chief field of oper- 
ations, returning to Winchester by the 3d of December, through the 
Snicker Gap, and by way of Berryville. 

On the 19th of December General Torbett's division, in two col- 
umns, passed eastward by Stormy Point and Chester Gap, sweeping a 
large circle, by way of Front Royal on its northern arc, and Madison 
Court House on its southern, and vmiting at Gordonsville, below the 
famous battle-field of Spottsylvania. They reached that point on the 
23d, and returning, marched northward to Culpepper and Warrenton. 
The division again took difterent routes, one column returning by way 
of Salem to Winchester, and the other by White Plains and Middle- 
bury to Paris, and thence to headquarters. A glance at the map of 
Virginia will show the object of these expeditions, which were with- 
out any serious fighting, but damaging to the enemy, nevertheless. 

Over a month passed in the valley without raids or expeditions of 
any import on either side. Grant — drawing tighter the huge meshes 
of the great net that slowly gathered about Richmond, the mouth of 
which he himself held on the James River, at Petersburg and Bermuda 
Hundred, while Sherman was slowly but surely compressing the 
southern folds, being about to make his notable Christmas gift to the 
Nation in the capture of Savannah, Georgia, — grew more anxious to 
complete the necessary work of isolating destruction which remained 
to be done to the immediate west of Richmond. 

General Grant, in his Memoirs * shows the importance of Sheridan's 
position and impending action by the following review of the general 
situation and the orders to the commander of the Middle Department : 

" By the first of February all pi'eparations were completed for the 
final march (Sherman's), Columbia, South Carolina, being the first 
objective ; Fayetteville, North Carolina, the second ; and Goldsboro', 
or neighborhood, the final one, unless something further should be 
determined upon. The right wing went from Pocotaligo, and the left 
from Hardeeville on the Savannah River, both columns taking a pretty 
direct route for Columbia. The cavalry, however, was to threaten 
Charleston on the right, and Augusta on the left. 

*Vol. II., pp. 408 9. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 2^9 

'^ On the 15th of January, Fort Fisher had fallen, news of which 
Sherman had received before starting out on his march. We already- 
had New Bern, and soon had Wilmington, whose fall followed that of 
Fort Fisher ; as did other points on the sea coast, where the national 
troops were in readiness to cooperate with Sherman's advance when 
he had passed Fayetteville. 

" On the iSth of January, I ordered Canby, in command at New 
Orleans, to move against Mobile, Montgomery, and Selma, Alabama, 
for the purpose of destroying roads, machine shops, etc." 

The cavahy leaders, Kilpatrick and Grierson, were already in the 
field and at work, destroying and capturing; while General James H. 
Wilson, of the Army of the Potomac, had been sent with his cavalry 
division to move in conjunction with these great operations, through 
and across the Central South. General Grant continues : 

" On the 8th of February, I ordered Sheridan, who was in the Val- 
ley of Virginia, to push forward as soon as the weather would permit 
and strike the canal west of Richmond at or about Lynchburg ; and on 
the 20th I made the order to go to Lynchburg as soon as the roads 
would permit, saying : 

" ' As soon as it is possible to travel, I think you will have no diffi- 
culty about reaching Lynchburg with a cavalry force alone. From 
there you could destroy the railroad and canal in every direction, so as 
to be of no further use to the rebellion. . . . This additional raid, 
with one starting from East Tennessee under Stoneman, numbering 
from four to five thousand cavalry ; one from Eastport, Mississippi, ten 
thousand cavalry ; Canby, from Mobile Bay, with about eighteen thou- 
sand mixed troops — these three latter pushing for Tuscaloosa, Selma, 
and Montgomery ; and Sherman with a large army eating out the vitals 
of South Carolina — is all that is> wanted to leave nothing for the rebel- 
lion to stand upon. I would advise you to overcome great obstacles to 
accomplish this. Charleston was evacuated on Tuesday last.' " 

In preparation for the move on Lynchburg direct, or by the James 
canal, back to City Point, Sheridan sent out his scouts, with detach- 
ments from the cavalry regiments to scour the country for guerrillas, 
who were harassing our lines. This force marched i6o miles in fifty- 
five hours, and brought in as captive the noted guerrilla, Colonel Harry 
Gilmore, and twenty of his followers, with about one hundred horses, 
besides having given a severe drubbing to the balance of the Confed- 
erate partisans. 



26o THE LIFE OF 

Winter quarters in the valley had been, on the whole, of an attractive 
character for our cavalry. The six weeks of needed rest preceding 
this, the last of Sheridan's extended raids, had been spent in the crisp, 
cold winter days of that delightful region. Veteran troopers still 
speak of their last winter in that field with pleasurable associations. 
Men and horses were alike in good condition, both well fed, and the 
men well clothed, and prepared for a severe campaign. The fine, 
clear cold of a Virginia mid-winter vanished before the buglers' 
" boots and saddles," and it was a cheerless and chilly morning, with 
a cold, mizzling rain, that greeted the column when Sheridan moved 
out of Winchester on the 27th of February, 1S65. His force consisted 
of the First Cavalry Division, under Merritt, the Third, under Custer, 
and a brigade from Averill's division, consisting of three West Vir- 
ginia regiments, under Colonel Capehart. General Merritt serving 
Sheridan as chief of staff', his division passed under the command 
of General " Tommy " Deven. The small army was in light march- 
ing order, with only four days' rations of bread and meat stuffs, and a 
larger supply of coffee, etc., and ammunition. 

The Union columns mai'ched steadily up the romantic valley, passing 
scores of little villages without halting, leaving their destination in 
doubt to the curious residents, whether unfriendly or otherwise. Their 
first objective point was Charlottesville, some sixty miles south by east 
of Winchester. Moving by way of Staunton, they crossed the Blue 
Ridge by Rockford Gap, at Mount Crawford. On the middle fork ot 
the Shenandoah River, just above Staunton, the Confederate Rosser 
was encountered, prepared with a small force to dispute the passage of 
the mountain stream. By a swift dash Colonel Capehart secured the 
bridge, driving Rosser across in great confusion. The column moved 
on to Staunton, and Custer was thrown forward in advance to seize 
Rockford Gap. 

At Waynesboro', on the west side of the ridge, Early was found 
strongly intrenched with a force of 2,500 men. He had'ostentatiously 
boasted that Sheridan should never be permitted to pass through Rock- 
ford Gap. But Custer was in his front, sweeping all before him, and 
without waiting for supports, the golden-maned trooper fell upon 
Early's lines. This was on the 2d of March. Early's intrenchments 
were strong, but Custer was soon inside them. Some fierce fighting 
ensued, the Union troopers charging boldly up to the earthworks and 
leaping their horses over them. The Confederates met them as boldly, 
with bavonet and clubbed rifles, but the invincible Michiganders and 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 261 

others of Custer's following, swept onward, actually wiping out Early's 
command. There remained i,6oo prisoners in our hands, with eleven 
field guns, seventeen battle-flags, and a train of 200 loaded wagons. 
Early had been acting for ten weeks or so as the commissary guard of 
Richmond and Lee. It was on this raid that Custer captured the gun 
which some rebel wag had marked in this wise : " For General Phil. 
H. Sheridan, U. S. A., care of General Jubal A. Early, C. S. A." 
This defeat of Early finished his career as a military commander, which, 
however, was, on the whole, a creditable one. Custer moved forward 
at once, until he was in possession of the disputed gap. It is estimated 
that at least a million dollars in military stores found at Waynesboro', 
were destroyed by ovn- forces. The region round about and eastward 
of the gap had been almost entirely free from our raids. All grain 
and forage supplies were destroyed, and the cattle were driven oft' 
or killed. 

The author of Sabre and Spurs says: " The enemy fled. This 
was the last seen of Rosser and his cavalry of which he had boasted so 
much when he came into the valley the preceding autumn ' to clean 
Phil. Sheridan up.' The destruction so systematically accomplished by 
Sheridan was not unrecognized in its true character. Those who were 
Union citizens had to suffer with the rest, for, as one of these said, ' If 
you do not burn my grain the rebels will take it when they come this 
way ; and I will help you.' At the same time he lit a match and set fire 
to the only stack of wheat he had, and had depended upon to feed 
himself and family." 

The Union column moved across the Blue Ridge on the night of 
the 3d of March, amid a cold and drenching rain, through which the 
vedettes could barely see a dozen yards in advance of them. The road 
was rugged and quite precipitous. There was reason to anticipate 
resistance at some point as we moved forward. But none came, and the 
morning broke with the splendid little army under vSheridan on the 
east of the ridge, at a point considerably south of any that our troopers 
had heretofore penetrated. The ammunition and pontoon trains were 
left behind to be brought over more leisurely, while Sheridan pushed 
rapidly toward Charlottesville, which place he occupied at 2 p. m. of 
the 4th, the authorities meeting him in advance of his entrance and 
surrendering without resistance. The two days occupied in waiting 
for the heavy trains were employed by our troops in destroying all sup- 
plies, the railroad bridges, depots, factories, and other valuable works 
useful to the Confederates. The railroad was rendered entirely useless 
for eight miles in the direction of Lynchburg. 



262 THE LIFE OF 

Information received through his scouts, coupled with the heavy 
rains which had so swollen the streams as to render his pontoons use- 
less — they not making a bridge of more than half the length required 
— made Sheridan decide not to attack Lynchburg, which, indeed, was 
known to be too strongly garrisoned for his small force to risk an 
assault upon. He decided, therefore, to divide his command and push 
rapidly for the James River. One column, under General Deven, was 
pressed to Scottsville, in Albemarle County, and the other through Lov- 
ingston, to the same stream at New Market, in Nelson County. Cus- 
ter's column then proceeded along the canal to Duguidsville, hoping 
there to find a bridge, and cross the James, but the Confederates had 
burned it. They also destroyed one at Hardwicksville. Sheridan's 
pontoons could not span the river at either point. He was thus com- 
pelled to choose whether to return to Winchester, or to pass behind 
Lee's army to White House, and thence to the Army of the James, 
on Grant's right and to the north of his main position. Sheridan 
chose the latter course, and proceeding eastward, destroyed the James 
River canal as he went. It was then the chief channel of supplies for 
Richmond. The banks of the canal were blown up, and the locks 
destroyed as far as Columbia. All the canal bridges were burned. 

In a dispatch, dated March loth, Sheridan said: " Everybody is 
bewildered by our movements." 

He did not know it then, but his operations were again producing the 
greatest consternation in " Richmond on the James." The Confederate 
government prepared itself for a sudden and rapid departure. The 
records, treasure, etc., were all prepared for removal, great care being 
taken in the manutacture of boxes, etc. , to prevent the facts being known, 
so as to avoid a panic. The families of officials packed for a southward 
journey. Lee hastened to Richmond from Petersburg, to hold close con- 
sultations with Davis and the Confederate Cabinet. His own family, who 
were living on Franklin Square, not far from the capitol, also made prepa- 
r.itions for an early departure. Chief Clerk Jones, of the Confederate State 
Department, in noting these facts in his valuable diary, under date of 
March 7th, says : " A large percent, of the population would behold 
the exodus with pleasure !" Again he says, that on the night after 
Sheridan's arrival at Columbia, the government was so frightened 
by a rumor that the bold trooper was at the outer fortifications of the 
city, that " Secretary Mallory and Postmaster-General Reagan were in 
the saddle, and rumor says that the President and remainder of the 
Cabinet had their horses saddled in readiness for flight." The rebel 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



263 




Congress was very 
nervous. Davis 
persuaded them not 
to adjourn, as the 
members wished, 
in order to fly, on 
the plea " that pub- 
lic necessity re- 
quired them to 
remain as long as 
possible." 

Halting in Co- 
lumbia for a day, 
during which, 
however, the canal 
was destroyed east- 
ward, as far as 
Goochland, not 
over ten miles from 
Richmond, Sheri- 
dan turned north- 
east with his whole 
command, strikmg 
the Virginia Cen- 
tral railroad, at 
Tolersville. This 

important line was utterly destroyed for fifteen miles, and as far south as 
Beaver Dam Station. Custer in one direction, and Deven in another, 
made complete destruction of the railway, its culverts and bridges. They 
destroyed all supplies in the rear of Lee's army, thus inflicting another 
fatal blow upon the Confederacy. General Sheridan having done his 
work thoroughly, swept around by the Pamunkey River and White 
House, and joined the besieging army on the 26th of March. His 
command had swept out of existence the Confederate power in Vir- 
ginia to the north of Richmond. He h.^d disabled full two hundred 
miles of railroad, destroyed all their bridges, and great quantities of 
stores, inflicting a loss of many millions of dollars upon the already 
weakened foe. His campaign was most potential in demoralizing the 
Confederate soldiers, and disheartening the whole Southern people. 
In his report of this raid General Sheridan said: "The first and 



GEN. THOMAS C. DEVEN, 

THE GALLANT COMMANDER OF THE SECOND BRIGADE, FIRST DIVISION, 
SHERIDAN'S CAVALRY CORPS. 



264 THE LIFE OF 

second cavalry division, which belonged to the Army of the Shenan- 
doah had marched in midwinter over three hundred miles, in constant 
rains, over almost impassable roads, and swollen streams, to participate 
in the campaign, and were rewarded by the honor of having" the flag of 
the Army of Northern Virginia presented to them on the morning of 
the surrender. . . . There perhaps never was a march where 
nature offered such impediments and shrouded herself in such gloom : 
incessant rain, deep and almost impassable streams, swamps and mud. 
— all overcome with constant cheerfulness on the part of the troops. 
Officers and men were buoyed up by the thought that we had com- 
pleted our work in the Shenandoah Valley, and were on our way to 
help our brothers in arms in front of Petersburg in the final struggle." 

The results of the campaign were, ''besides the destruction of the 
canal, bridges, etc. : prisoners, 1,603 ' horses and mules, 2,154 ! battle- 
flags, 16 ; pieces of artillery, 17; small arms, 2,010. Our loss from 
Winchester to White House did not exceed one hundred men, and some 
of these we left by the wayside, unable to bear the fatigues of the march. 
The host of negroes that came into our lines was sent by steamer to 
Washington." The entire operations of the Shenandoah Armv between 
August I, 1864, and March i, 1865, resulted in the capture from the Con- 
federates of 13,000 prisoners, loi field guns, twenty-four Union guns 
recaptured, and forty-nine battle-flags, with many thousand small arms. 
Our losses were: Killed, 1,938; wounded, 19,893; missing. 3.421. 
We have no account of the Confederate killed, wounded, and missing. 

In the Memoirs^ Grant, after speaking of the Waynesboro' tight. 
says : 

" On the 1 3th of March I heard from him [Sheridan] again. He 
had turned east to come to White House. He could not go to 
Lynchburg, as ordered, because the rains had been so very heavy, and 
the streams were so very much swollen. He had a pontoon train with 
him, but it would not reach half way across some of the streams, at 
their then stage of water, which he would have to get over, in going- 
south, as first ordered." 

Again he wrote that "• Sheridan had about ten thousand cavalry 
with him, divided into two envisions," and " moved very light, carrying 
only four days' provisions with him, with a larger supply of cofl'ee, 
salt, and other small rations, and very little else besides ammunition. 
They stopped at Charlottesville, and commenced tearing up the rail- 
road, back towards Lynchburg. He also sent a division along the 
James River canal, to destroy locks, culverts, etc. All mills and fac- 
tories along the line of march of his troops were destroyed also. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 265 

" Sheritlan had in this way consumed so mucli time that his making- 
a march to White House was now somewhat hazardous. He deter- 
mined, therefore, to fight his way along the raih'oad and canal till he 
was as near to Richmond as it was possible to get, or until attacked. 
On the loth he was at Columbia. Negroes had joined his column to 
the number of two thousand or more, and they assisted considerably 
in the work of destroying the railroads and the canal. His cavalry 
was in as fine a condition as when he started, because he had been able 
to find plenty of forage. He had captured most of Early's horses, and 
picked up a good many others on the road. When he reached Ash- 
land he was assailed by the enemy in force. He resisted their assault 
with part of his command, and then moved quickly across the South 
and North Anna, going north, and reached White House safely on 
the 19th." 

General Badeau says: "Sheridan's loss during the campaign did 
not exceed one hundred soldiers, and many of these were the men 
unable to bear the fi^tigues of the march. Incessant rain, deep and 
impassable streams, swamps, mud, and gloom, were the impediments 
ofiered by nature to his advance. Seventeen pieces of artillery, and 
sixteen hundred prisoners of war were captured. Forty-six canal 
locks, five aqueducts, forty canal and road bridges, twenty-three rail- 
road bridges, one foundry, one machine shop, twenty-seven ware- 
houses, forty-one miles of railroad, fourteen mills, and immense quan- 
tities of ammunition, gray cloth, saddles, horses, grain, and other 
supplies were destroyed. 

"■ Sheridan's cavalry had annihilated whatever was useful to the 
enemy between Richmond and Lynchburg, and, having completed its 
work in the Valley of the Shenandoah, he was once more ready to join 
the Army of the Potomac in the struggle which it had shared the year 
before. Hancock was placed in command of the Middle Military 
Division, while Sheridan resumed his old command close to Grant, an 
arrangement welcome to both soldiers, and destined to prove as for- 
tunate for the reputation of the chief as of the subordinate." 

It was this raid and its results that made Grant decide on the final 
movements, ending in the capture of Richmond and the surrender of 
Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. The effect of Sheridan's 
arrival and cheery presence was felt at City Point and on Grant him- 
self. Movements at once began. 

Between the 19th of March (the day of Sheridan's arrival at the 
White House from his raid) and the 29th thereof (the day on which 



266 THE LIFE OF 

President Lincoln bid General Grant good-bye at City Point, as the 
latter with his staff' took the train for the front) , there had been a good 
deal of fighting about Petersburg, including the desperate Confederate 
sortie on Fort Steadman and its vigorous repulse. This occurred on the 
25th of March. Sheridan was steadily on the alert, for Grant had been 
in constant fear for a month before, that Lee might suddenly pull out 
from his intrenchments and fall back to Lynchburg, taking advantage 
of the unbroken railroad line into North Carolina, where General Joe 
Johnston was operating against Sherman's advance. Such a movement 
might have proved disastrous to Sherman if successfully carried out. 
Both armies, in foct, were got in condition " for a fight or a foot race." 
Sheridan and his cavalry were the eye and arm of the LTnion army, 
and his thorough comprehension of the topographical and military 
situation, gained by unceasing vigilance, soon gave a fresh impetus to 
all efforts. 

In a conversation with John Russell Young, had in iSSo, while on 
the Chinese Sea, * the general told of his orders to Sheridan for the 
final movement that began at Five Forks and ended at Appomattox 
Court House, and of the manner in which Sheridan received his orders. 
The incident is so characteristic of both men, as narrated by the senior 
of them, that it is worthy of reproduction here. Grant said : 

"I was only waiting for Sheridan to finish his raid around Lee, to 
make final movements. When Sheridan arrived from that raid, I asked 
him to take a walk. As we were walking, I took out his orders and 
gave them to him. They were orders to move on the left and attack 
Lee. If the movement succeeded, he was to advance. If it failed, he 
was to make his way into North Carolina and join Sherman. When 
Sheridan read this part, he was, I saw, disappointed. His countenance 
fell. He had just made a long march, a severe march, and the idea of 
another march into North Carolina would disconcert any commander, 
even Sheridan. He, however, said nothing. I remarked : 

" ' Sheridan, although I have provided for }our retreat into North 

Carolina in the event of a failure, I have no idea you will fail — no idea 

that you will go to Carolina. I mean to end this business right here.' 

" Sheridan's eyes lit up, and he said with enthusiasm : 

" ' That's the talk. Let us end the business right here.' 

" But of course I had to think of the loyal North, and if we foiled in 

striking Lee, it would have satisfied the North for Sheridan to go to 

* Around the World v.'ith General Grant. Vol II., page 357. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 267 

the Caroliiias. The movement, however, succeeded, and my next new^s 
from Sheridan was the battle of Five Forks — one of the finest battles 
in the war." 

The movements indicated began at once. Grant took the field, 
leaving City Point. Badeau says : 

" The final movement against Petersburg had no success for several 
days. A great many advised Grant to return — he himself was gloomy. 
But one dark, rainy morning Sheridan came riding into camp and 
talked so cheeringly, so confidently, and so intelligently of.what he could 
do, that his mood was contagious." 

The staff' took the great trooper in to Grant, who was in his tent, and 
when Grant perceived Sheridan's spirit, he felt that the time had come. 
Of this interview Grant wrote the following : * 

" One day, after the movement I am about to describe had com- 
menced [/. e., the closing campaign], and when his cavalry was on 
our extreme left and far to the rear, south, Sheridan rode up to where 
my headquarters was then established at Dabney's Mill. He met some 
of my staff" officers outside, and was highly jubilant over the prospect 
of success, giving reasons why he believed this would prove the final 
and successful effort. Although my chief of staff" had urged very strongly 
that we return to our position about City Point and in the lines around 
Petersburg, he asked Sheridan to come in to see me and say to me what 
he had been saying to them. Sheridan felt a little modest about giv- 
ing his advice where it had not been asked ; so one of my staff' came in 
and told me Sheridan had what they considered important news, and 
suggested that I send for him. I did so, and was glad to see the spirit 
of confidence with which he was inspired. Knowing as I did from 
experience of what great value that feeling of confidence by a com- 
mander was, I determined to make a movement at once." 

The movement was made, with Sheridan in command. The battle 
of Five Forks which followed, Grant always acknowledged, " made 
possible the final assault on Petersburg, and opened the way for the 
Appomattox campaign, in which Sheridan led the terrible pursuit, 
fought Saylor's Creek, and out-marched Lee. In all these movements 
he sent back suggestions daily, almost hourly, to Grant, every one of 
which Grant accepted." 

Memoirs, Vol. II., p. 438. 




en 





-U 

> 



-^ S 



a 
< 



^ ^ 



Chapter XXII. 

SHERIDAN'S PURSUIT OF LEE. 

A MASTKRLY MILITARY ACHIKVEMKNT TlIK HATTLK OK FIVK FORKS HOW 

GKNICRAL LEE WAS OUT-M AN(JEUVERRD — THE 15 A TTLE-FIELD AS A STRA TKGET- 
ICAL POINT —THE CORPS AND SOLDIERS EN(iAGED — YOUNG CHAMBERLAIN's 
SPLENDID FIGHT — FOR "THE HONOR OF THE FIFTH CORPS " — SHERI- 
DAN'S GRAND TACTICS — USING HIS CAVALRY AS A SCREEN — A BATTLE OF 
GIANTS — SAVAGE FIGHTING ALL DAY — SHERIDAN SELDOM OUT OF FIRE — 
CUSTER's YELLOW LOCKS AT THE FRONT — THE "BARN DOOR " MOVEMENT 
AND HOW IT WORKED — GALLOPING DOWN THE LINES — MOUNTING 
THE CONFEDERATE BREASTWORKS — GENERAL WINTIIROP'S DEATH — 
" STRAIGHTEN" THAT LINE " — VICTORY — CAPTURES — SURRENDER — THE 
SOLEMN NIGHT SCENE AT GRAVELLY RUN. 

The battle of Fi\e Forks was pcrliaj^s tlic most ingeniously con- 
ceived and most skillfully executed engagement that was ever fought on 
this continent. It matched in secretiveness and shrewdness the clever- 
est efibrts of Napoleon, and shows also much of that soldier's l)roadness 
of intellect and capacity for great occasions. 

Sheridan had scarcely time to change his horse's shoes after Lee 
started south from Petersburg before he was ofl', and after him much of 
Grant's infantry also moved to the left. They passed the ancient 
breastworks at Hatcher's Run, and extended their lines southwestward 
till they touched Dinwiddle Court House, thirty miles from City Point. 
The Confederates fell back with but little skirmishing until the Union 
force faced northward and reached out toward their idolized South Side 
railway. Then they grew uneasy, and as a hint of their opposition, 
fought the sharp battle of Qiiaker road on Thursday. Still Grant 
reached farther and farther, marveling to find that, with his depleted 
army, Lee always overmatched him at every point of attack ; but on 
Friday the Union forces quitted the intrenchments on the Boydton 
plank road, and made a bold push for the White Oak road. This is 
one of the series of parallel public ways running east and west, south 
of the Southside, the Vaughan road being the first, the Boydton 
plank road the second, and the old Court House road the third. It 
became evident to the Confederates that Grant had two direct objects 
in view : the severing of their most important railway, and the occupa- 
tion of the "Five Forks." 



270 THE LIFE OF 

The latter is a magniticent strategic point. Five good roads meet ir. 
the edge of a dry. high, well-watered forest, three of them radiating 
to the railway, and their tributaries imlocking all the countr}-. Farther 
south the Confederate defenses had been paltry, but thev fortified this 
empty solitude as if it had been their capital. Upon its principal road 
— the White Oak afore-named — they had a ditched breastworks with 
embrasures of logs and earth, reaching east and west three miles. Thit. 
was co\ered eastward and southeastward by rifle-pits, masked works, 
and felled timber. The bridges approaching it were broken. All the 
roads were well picketed, and a desperate resolve to hold to it averred. 

This point of Five Forks is about eight miles from Dinwiddle 
Court House, four from the Southside road, and eighteen from Hum- 
phrey's, the nearest of our military railway stations. A crooked stream, 
called Gravelly Run, which, with Hatcher's, forms Rowanty Creek and 
goes oft' to feed the Chowan in North Carolina, rises near Five Forks, 
and gives the name of Gravelly Run Chinch to a little Methodist 
meeting-house built in the forest a mile distant. That meeting-house 
was a hospital, running blood, while a victor's battle-flags were flying 
at Five Forks. 

The Fifth Army Corps under General Warren had all of the flank 
fighting of the week to do. It lost five or six hundred men in its vic- 
tory of Thursday, and on Friday rested along the Bovdton plank road» 
at the house of one Butler, which is about seven miles from Five Forks. 

On Fridav morning, April ist. General Avres took the advance 
with one of its divisions, and marched three-quarters of a mile be- 
vond the plank road, through a woody country, following the road, 
but crossing the ubiquitous Gravellv Run, till he struck the enemy in 
strong force a mile and a half below White Oak road. They lay in 
the edge of a wood, with a thick curtain of timber in their front, a 
battery of field pieces to the right, mounted in a bastioned earthwork, 
and on the left the woods drew near, encircling a little farm-land and 
some negro buildings. 

General Avres' skirmish line being fired upon, did not stand, but 
fell back upon his main column, which advanced at the order. Straight- 
way the enemy charged headlong, while their battery. opened a cross 
fire, and their skirmishers on the left, creeping down through the woods, 
picked the Union men ofi' in flank. Then they charged with a whole 
division, giving a memorable yell, and soon doubled up Ayres' line of 
battle, so that it was forced in tolerable disorder back upon General 
Crawford, who commanded the next division. 

His men do not seem to have retrieved the character of their prede- 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 271 

cessors, but made a feint to go in, and falling by dozens beneath the 
murderous fire, gave up the ground. Griffin's division, past which the 
fugitives ran, halted awhile before taking the doubtful way, and the 
whole corps was now back to the Boydton plank road, and nothing 
had been done to anybody's credit. 

General Griffin rode up to General Chamberlain in this extremit}'. 
Chamberlain was a young and anxious officer, who resigned the pro- 
fessorship of modern languages in Bowdoin College to embrace a sol- 
dier's career. He had been wovmded the day before, but was zealous 
to try death again. 

" Chamberlain," said Griffin, '•'• can't you save the honor of the 
Fifth Corps ? " 

The young general formed his men at once, — the One Hundred 
and Eighty-fifth New York and the One Hundred and Ninety-eighth 
Pennsylvania : they had tasted powder before. Down they went into 
the creek, waist deep, up the slope, and into the clearing, — muskets to 
the left of them, muskets in front of them, cannon to the right of them. 
But their pace was swift, like their resolve. Many of them were cut 
down, yet they kept ahead, and the Confederates, who seemed aston- 
ished at their own success, drew off and gave up the field. 

Almost two hours had elapsed between the loss and the recovery of 
the ground. The battle might be called Daney's Farm, or, more gen- 
erally, the fight of Gravelly Run. The brigades of Generals Bartlett 
and Gregory rendered material assistance in the pleasanter Jinale of 
the day. 

An order was soon issued to hasten the burial of the dead and quit 
the spot, but Chamberlain petitioned for leave to charge the enemy's 
earthwork in the rear, and the enthusiasm of his brigade bore down 
General Warren's more prudent doubt. In brief. Griffin's division 
charged the fort, drove the Confederates out of it, and took position on 
the White Oak road, far east of Five Forks. 

While Griffin's division must be credited with this result, it may be 
said that their luck was due as much to the time as the manner of 
their appearance. The Confederate divisions of Pickett and Bushrod 
Johnson were, in the main, by the time Griffin came up, on their way 
eastward to attack Sheridan's cavalry. Ayres and Crawford had 
charged as one to four, but the forces were quite equalized when 
Chamberlain pushed on. The corps probably lost twelve hundred men. 

In this action the Confederates, for the first time for many weeks, 
exhibited all their traditional irresistibility and confidence ; but a ter- 
rible retribution remained for them in the succeeding day's decrees. 



272 THE LIFE OF 

Concentrating at Dinwiddle Court House, Sheridan proceeded to 
scour so much of the countr}' that he almost baffled conjecture as to 
where his headquarters really were, as many thousand cavalry as 
constituted his powerful force seem magnified to an incredible number 
when mounted and ever moving here and there. 

The Court House, where he remained fittingly for a couple of days, 
is a cross-roads patch, numbering about twelve scattered buildings, 
with a delightful prospect on every side of sterile and monotonous 
pines. This is the largest village in the district, though Dinwiddic 
stands fourth in population among Virginia counties. At the time, 
there was almost as great a population underground as the ancient 
covmty carried on its census. 

From Dinwiddie fields Sheridan's men went galloping, by the aid 
of maps and cross-examination, into every by-road ; but it was soon 
apparent that the Confederate infantry meant to give them a push. 
This came about on Friday, with a foretaste on Thursday. 

Little Five Forks is a cross-road not far from Dinwiddie Court 
House, in the direction of Petersburg. Big Five Forks, which, it must 
be borne in mind, gives name to the great battle of Saturday, is farther 
out by several miles, and did not lie within our lines. But, if the left 
of the army be at Dinw^iddie, and the right at Petersburg, Little Five 
Forks will be on the front line, though when Sheridan fought there, it 
was neutral ground, picketed, but not possessed. 

Very early in the week, when the Confederates became aware of 
the extension of our lines, they added at least a division of troops to 
the regular force which encamped upon our flank line. These were 
directed to avoid an infantry fight, but to seek out the cavalry, and, by 
getting it at disadvantage, rid the region both of the harmfulness of 
Sheridan, and that prestige of his name so terrifying to the Virginia 
housewife. So long as Sheridan remained upon the far left, the South 
Side road was unsafe, and the rapidity with which his command could 
be transferred from point to point rendered it a formidable balance of 
power. The Confederates knew the country well, and the peculiar 
course of the highways gave them every advantage. 

The cavalry of Sheridan's army proper was divided into two divis- 
ions commanded by Generals Deven and Custer, General Merritt 
commanding ; the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac was handled 
by General Crook ; McKenzie led the cavalry of the James. On Fri- 
day these were under separate orders, and the result was confusion. 
The infantrv was beaten at Gravelly Run, and the cavalry, met in flank 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 27^ 

and front by overwhelming numbers, executed some movements not 
laid down in the manual. The centre of the battle was Little Five 
Forks, though the Confederates struck Sheridan closer to Dinwiddle 
Court House, and drove his forces pell-mell up the road into the woods, 
and out the old Court House road to Gravelly Run. The Union men 
rallied several times, and charged them into the woods, but they, con- 
cealed in copses, could go where sabres w^ere useless. 

The plan of this battle-field will show a series of irregular advances 
to puzzle anybody but a cavalryman. The full divisions of Bushrod 
Johnson and General Pickett were developed against the Federal 
troops, with spare brigades from other corps. The Union cavalry loss 
during the day was 800 in killed and wounded ; but the Confederates 
were pushed so hai'd that they gave up the field, falling back toward 
Big Five Forks. Two thousand men comprise the Union losses of 
Friday in Warren's corps and Sheridan's command, including many 
valuable officers. Under a single guidance, splendid results were next 
day obtained with half the sacrifice. 

On Friday night General Grant, dissatisfied, like most observers, 
with the day's business, placed General Sheridan in the supreme com- 
mand of the whole of Warren's corps and all the cavalry. General 
Warren reported to him at nightfall, and the little army w^as thus com- 
posed : 

General Sheridan's Forces, Saturday, April i, 1865. 

Three divisions of infantry, under Generals Griffin, Ayres, and 
Crawford. 

Two divisions of cavalry, formerly constituting the Army of the 
Shenandoah, now commanded by General Merritt, under Generals 
Deven and Custer. 

One division cavalry of the Army of the Potomac under General 
Crook. 

Brigade or more cavalry, Army of the James, under General Mc- 
Kenzie. 

In this composition the infantry \vas to the cavalry in the propor- 
tion of about two to one, and the entire force a considerable army. 
Sheridan was absolute. He visited every part of his line, though it 
stretched from Dinwiddle Court House to the Quaker road, along the 
Boydton plank and its adjuncts. 

At daybreak on Saturday he fi^ed four signal guns, to admonish 
18 



274 THE LIFE OF 

Warren that he was oft"; and his cavahy, by diverging roads, struck 
their camps. Just south is a certain Stony Creek, the tributaries to 
which wind northward and control the roads. Over Stony Creek 
went Crook, making the longest detour. Custer took the bottom of 
Chamberlain's bed, and Deven advanced from Little Five Forks, the 
whole driving the Confederates toward the left of their works on White 
Oak road. 

The Union men outnumbered their opponents. The latter were 
widely separated from their comrades before Petersburg, and the adjust- 
ment of our infantry, as well as the great movable force at Sheridan's 
disposal, rendered it doubtful that they could have returned. At any 
rate they did not do so, whether from choice or necessity, and it was 
a part of Sheridan's scheme to push them back into their intrench- 
ments. This work was delegated to the cavalry entii-ely, but when 
the horsemen were close up to the Confederates, they were dismounted, 
and to all intents used as infantry. 

A portion of them, under Gregg and McKenzie, still adhered to the 
saddle, that they might be put in rapid motion for flanking and charg- 
ing purposes ; but fully five thousand dismounted men, who had seen 
service in the Shenandoah and elsewhere, were formed in line of battle 
on foot, and by charge and deploy essayed the difficult work of press- 
ing back the entire Confederate column. 

This they were to do so evenly and ingeniously that the Confeder- 
ates should go no farther than their works, either to escape eastward, 
or to discover the whereabouts of Warren's forces, which were already 
forming. Had they espied the latter they might have become so dis- 
couraged as to break and take to the woods ; and Sheridan's object was 
to capture them as well as to rout them. 

All the afternoon the cavalry pushed them hard, and the strife went 
on uninterruptedly and terrifically. The battle was fought at so close 
quarters that the Union carbines were never oat of range ; had this 
been otherwise, the long rifles of the enemy would have given them 
everv advantage. 

With their horses within call, the cavalrymen, in line of battle, 
stood together like walls of stone, swelling onward like those gradual 
elevating ridges of which Lyell speaks. Now and then a detachment 
of Confederates would charge down, swaying the Union lines and 
threatening to annihilate them, for at no part of the action, till its 
crisis, did the Southern men exhibit either doubt or dismay, but fought 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 27^ 

up to the standard, here and there showing some of those wonderful 
feats of individual coinage which were the miracles of the time. 

A colonel with a shattered regiment came down on a desperate 
charge. The bayonets were fixed ; the men advanced with a yell ; 
their gray uniforms seemed black amidst the smoke ; their preserved 
colors, torn by grape and ball, waved yet defiantly ; twice they halted 
and poured in volleys, but came on again like the surge from the fog, 
depleted, but determined. Yet in the hot faces of the carbineers they 
read a purpose as resolute but more calm, and while they pressed 
along, swept all the while by scathing volleys, a group of horsemen 
took them in flank. It was an awful instant ; the horses recoiled, the 
charging column trembled, but at once the Confederates, with rare or- 
ganization, fell into a hollow square, and with solid sheets of steel 
defied our centaurs. The horsemen rode around them in vain ; no 
charge could break the shining squares until our dismounted carbi- 
neers povu-ed in their volleys fresh, making gaps in the spent ranks, and 
then in their wavering time the cavalry thundered down. The Confed- 
erates could stand no more ; they reeled and swayed, and tell back, 
broken and beaten. And on the ground their colonel lay, sealing his 
devotion with his life. 

Through wood and brake and swamp, across field and trench, the 
fighting defenders were steadily pushed. For a part of the time 
Sheridan himself was there, short, and broad, and active, waving his hat, 
giving oiders, seldom out of fire, but never stationary, and close by fell 
the long, yellow locks of Custer, sabre extended, fighting like a viking, 
though he was worn and haggard with much work. At 4 o'clock the 
enemy were behind their wooden walls at Five Forks, and still the cav- 
alry pressed them hard, in feint rather than solemn eflbrt, while a 
battalion, dismounted, charged squarely upon the face of their breast- 
works, which lay in the main on the north side of the White Oak road. 
Then, while the cavaliy worked round toward the rear, the infantry of 
Warren, though commanded by Sheridan, prepared to take part in the 
battle. 

The genius of Sheridan's movement lay in his disposition of the 
infantry. The skill with which he arranged it, and the difficult 
manoeuvres he projected and so well executed, should place him as high 
in infantry tactics as he has many times shown himself superior in cav- 
alry. The infantry, which had marched at 2.30 P. m. from the house of 
Boisseau, on the Boydton plank road, was drawn up in four battle 
lines a mile or more in length, and in the beginning facing the White 



276 THE LIFE OF 

Oak road obliquely ; the left or pivot was the division of General 
Ayres ; Crawford had the centre, and Griffin the right. These ad- 
vanced from the Boydton plank road at 10 o'clock, while Sheridan was 
thimdering away with the cavalry, mounted and dismounted, and delud- 
ing his enemy with the idea that he was the sole attacking party. They 
lay concealed in the woods behind Gravelly Run Meeting-house, but 
their left was not a half mile distant from the Confederate works, though 
their right reached so far oft' that a novice would have criticised the 
position sharply. Little by little, Sheridan extended his lines, drove 
the whole defending force into their breastworks ; then he dismounted 
the mass of his cavalry and charged the works straight in the front, still 
thundering on their flank. At last, every Confederate was safe behind 
his intrenChments. Then the signal was given, and the concealed 
infantry, many thousand strong, sprang up and advanced by echelon to 
the right. Imagine, as Sheridan himself described it, a great barn 
door shutting to, and you have the movement, if you can also imagine 
the door itself, hinge and all, moving forward also. This was the 
door : 

AvRES. Crawford. Griffin. 

Stick a pin through Ayres and turn Griffin and Crawford forward 
as you would a spoke in a wheel, but move your pin up also a very little. 
In this way Ayres will advance, say half a mile, and Griffin, to describe 
a quarter revolution, will m'ove through a radius of four miles. But 
to complicate this movement by echelon, we must imagine the right, 
when halfway advanced, cutting across the centre and re-forming, while 
Crawford became the right and Griffin the middle of the line of battle. 
Warren was with Crawford on this march. Gregory commanded the 
skirmishers. Ayers was so close to the Confederate left that he might 
be said to hinge upon it ; and at S o'clock the whole corps column 
came crash upon the full flank of the astonished rebels. Now came the 
pitch of the battle. 

Sheridan was already on the Confederate right in force, and thinly 
in their rear. His carbineers were making feint to charge in direct 
front, and the Union infantry, four deep, hemmed in their entire left. 
All tills they did not for an instant note : and so far from giving up, 
concentrated all their energy and fought like fiends. They had a bat- 
tery in position which belched incessantly, and over the breastworks 
their musketry made one unbroken roll ; while against Sheridan's 
prowlers on their left, by skirmish and sortie, they stuck to their sink- 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



277 



ing fortunes so as 
to win unwilling ap- 
plause from mouths 
of wisest censure. 

It was just at the 
coming up of the 
infantry that vSheri- 
dan's little band was 
pushed the hardest. 
At one time, indeed, 
they seemed about to 
undergo extermina- 
tion ; — not that they 
wavered, but that 
they were so vastly 
overpowered. It 
will remain to the 
latest time a matter 
of marvel how so 
paltry a cavalry force 
could press back 
16,000 infantry ; but 
when the infantry 
blew like a great 
barn door — the 




GEN. GEORGE D. BAYARD, 

ONE OF THE YOUNGEST GENERALS IN THE ARMY, KILLED AT 
FREDERICKSBURG, DECEMBER 13, 1862. 



simile best appli- 
cable — upon the enemy's left, the victory that was to come had 
passed the region of strategy and resolved to an aflair of personal cour- 
age. Every officer fought as if he were the forlorn hope. Mounted 
on his black horse — the same which he rode at Winchester — Sheridan 
galloped everywhere, his flushed face all the redder, and his small, 
nervous figure all the more ubiquitous. He galloped once straight 
down the Confederate front with but a handful of his staft\ A dozen 
bullets whistled for him together ; one grazed his arm, at which a faith- 
ful orderly rode ; the black charger leaped high, in fright, and Sheridan 
was untouched — but the orderly lay dead in the field, and the saddle 
dashed afar, empty. General Warren rode with Crawford most of the 
afternoon, mounted likewise, and having two or three narrow escapes. 
He was as dark, dashing, and individual as ever, but was relieved of 
his command after the battle, and Griffin succeeded to his place. 



278 



THE LIFE OF 



Ayers fought like a lion in this pitch of battle, making all the faint- 
hearted around him ashamed to do ill with such an example contig- 
uous. General Bartlett, keen-faced and active, like a fiery scimeter, 
was leading his division as if he were an immortal. He was close at 
hand in the most gallant episodes, and held at nightfall a bundle of 
captured battle-flags. But Griffin, tall and slight, led the charge on 
the flank, and was the first to mount the parapet with his horse, riding 
over the gunners as May did at Cerro Gordo, and cutting them down. 
Bartlett's brigade, behind him, finished the business, and the last can- 
non was fired for the day against the conquering Federals. General 
Crawford fulfilled his full share of duties throughout the day, amply 
sustained by such splendid brigade commanders as Baxter, Coulter, 
and Kellogg, while Gwin and Boweryman were at hand in the division 
of General Ayres — not to omit the fallen Winthrop, who died to save 
a friend and win a new laurel. Chamberlain, having been the hero of 
both Qiiaker road and Gravelly Run, in the action of Five Forks 
made the air ring with the applauding huzzas of his soldiers. 

The fight, as Sheridan closed upon the Confederates, was singularly 
free from great losses on our side, though desperate as any contest ever 
fought on the continent. One prolonged roar of rifles shook the after- 
noon ; and the Confederate artillery, until its capture, raked the Union 
men like an irrepressible demon, and at every foot of the intrenchments 
a true man fought both in front and behind. The birds of the forest 
fled afar ; the smoke ascended to heaven ; locked in so mad frenzy, none 
saw the sequel of the closing day. Now Richmond rocked in her 
high towers to watch the impending issue. But soon the day began to 
look gray, and a pale moon came tremulously out to watch the meeting 
squadrons. Imagine along a line of a full mile, 30,000 men strug- 
gling for life and prestige, the woods gathering about them — but 
yesterday the home of hermit hawks and chipmunks — now ablaze 
with bursting shells, and showing In the dusk the curl of flames in the 
tangled grass, and rising up the boles of the pine trees, the scaling, 
scorching tongues. Seven hours this terrible spectacle had been en- 
acted, but thejinalc of it had almost come. 

It was, by all accounts, in this hour of victory when the modest and 
brave General Winthrop, of the First Brigade, Ayers' division, was 
mortally wounded. He was riding along the breastworks, and while 
in the act of saving a friend's life, was shot through the left lung. He 
fell at once, and his men, who loved him, gathered around and took 
him tenderly to the rear, where he died before the stretcher on which 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 279 

he lay could be deposited beside the meeting-house door. On the way 
from the held to the hospital he wandered in mind at times, crying 
out : 

" Captain Weaver, how is that line .•" Has the attack succeeded ? " etc. 

When he had been resuscitated for a pause, he said : 

''Doctor, I am done for." His last words were : 

"Straighten the line I" and he died peacefully. 

He was a cousin of Major Winthrop, the author of Cecil Drecme^ 
and was twenty-seven years of age. 

General GrifHn said : " This victory is not worth Winthrop's life." 

Winthrop went into the service as a simple color-bearer. He died 
a brevet-brigadier. 

It was 7 o'clock before the Confederates came to the conclusion 
that they were outflanked and whipped. They had been so busily 
engaged that they were a long time finding out how desperate were 
their circumstances ; but now, wearied with persistent assaults in front, 
they fell back to the left, only to see four lines of battle waiting to 
drive them across the field, decimated. At the right, the horsemen 
charged them in their vain attempt to fight '' out," and in the rear, 
straggling foot and cavalry began also to assemble ; slant fire, cross fire, 
and direct fire, by file and volley, rolled in perpetually, cutting down 
their bravest officers, and sti'ewing the fields with bleeding men ; groans 
resounded in the intervals of exploding powder, and to add to their 
terror and despair, their own artillery, captured from them, threw into 
their own ranks from its old position, ungrateful grape and canister, 
enfilading their breastworks, whizzing and plunging by air line and 
ricochet ; and at last bodies of cavalry fairly mounted their intrench- 
ments and charged down the parapet, slashing and trampling them, and 
producing inexplicable confusion. They had no commanders — at 
least no orders — and looked in vain for some guiding hand to lead 
them out of a toil into which they had fallen so bravely and so blindly. 
A few more volleys, — a new and irresistible charge, — a shrill and 
warning command to die or surrender, and w^ith a sullen and tearful 
impulse, five thousand muskets were flung upon the ground, and five 
thousand exhausted and impotent men were Sheridan's prisoners of 
war. 

Acting with his usual decision, Sheridan placed his captives in care 
of a provost-guard, and sent them at once to the rear. Those which 
escaped he ordered the fiery Custer to pursue with brand and vengeance, 
and they were pressed far into the desolate forest, spent and hungry, 



28o GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 

many falling by the way of wounds or exhaustion, many pressed down 
by hoof or sabre-stroke, and many picked up in mercy and sent 
back to rejoin their brethren in bonds. 

Thus ended the splendid victory of Five Forks, the least bloody to 
the Union troops, but the most successful, proportionate to numbers 
engaged, that was fought during the war. One man out of every three 
engaged took a prisoner. Sheridan captured four cannon, an ambu- 
lance train and baggage teams, eight thousand muskets, and twenty- 
eight battle-flags. Sheridan's loss only reached eight hundred. 

This victory was almost entirely due to Sheridan. It was won by 
his strategy and persistence. The happy distribution of duties between 
cavalry and infantry excited a fine rivalry, and the consciousness of 
Sheridan's guidance inspired confidence. The enemy lost three thou- 
sand in killed and wounded. 

The scene at Gravelly Run Meeting-house at S and at lo o'clock on 
Saturday night was one of the solemn contrasts of the war. A little 
frame church, planted among the pines, and painted white, with cool, 
green window-shutters, held at its foot a gallery for the negroes, and 
at the head a varnished pulpit. Blood ran in little rills across the 
planks, and hmnan feet treading in them, made indelible prints in every 
direction. The pulpit lamps wei-e doing duty, not to shed holy light 
upon holy pages, but to show the pale and dusty faces of the beseech- 
ing ; and as they moved in and out, the groans and curses of the suffering 
replaced the gush of peaceful hymns and the deep responses to the 
preacher's prayers. Federal and Confederate lay together, the bitter- 
ness of noon assuaged in the common tribulation of the night, and all 
the while came in the dripping stretchers, to place in this Golgotha 
new recruits for death and sorrow. Over the portal, the scenes within 
were reiterated, except that the greatness of a starry night replaced the 
close and terrible arena of the church. Beneath the trees, where the 
Methodist circuit-rider had tied his horse, and the urchins, during class- 
meeting, had wandered away to cast stones at the squirrels, and measure 
strength at vaulting and running, the gashed and fevered lay irregularly, 
some soul going out at each whift' of the breeze in the fir-tops ; and the 
teams and surgeons, and straggling soldiers, and galloping orderlies, 
passed all the night beneath the old and gibbous moon and the hushed 
stars, and by trickle of Gravelly Run, stealing oft", afeared. But the 
wounded had no thought that night ; the victory absorbed all hearts. 



Chapter XXIII. 



SHERIDAN AT THE SURRENDER. 

THE FIVE FORKS ENVIRONMENT STRIKING AT APPOMATTOX FIGHTING 

BEFORE DAYBREAK STANDING TO HORSE ALL NIGHT RAPID CAVALRY 

MOVEMENTS OVERRIDING MEADE SURROUNDING LEE SHERIDAN's 

DISTRUST THE TRUCE GORDON AND THE SHARPSHOOTER GRANT AND 

SHERIDAN MEET THE SURRENDER OF LEE — " CARRYING THE WORLD" ON 

THEIR SHOULDERS. 

The night of March 29, 1S65, found Sheridan with his cavahy, 
pressing, watching, keenly alert, looking into the night and southward, 
as he held, at Dinwiddle Court House, the extreme left of our investing 
lines about Richmond and Petersburg. The end was near, and by 
the way at the flank of which Sheridan watched like an eagle ready 
to pounce upon its prey, must Lee get clear, if at all, of the fiercely 
elaborate environment which for ten months past Grant had so sternly 
and steadily forged about him. In a semicircle or arc of at least 
thirty-five miles, the army of investment was swinging steadily for- 
waixl. Weitzel on the far right with a part of the Army of the James, 
was near to Richmond. Warren was below and behind Sheridan, 
holding the extreme left with his stern, unflinching veterans. Between 
them, and next to Warren was Humphrey, then Ord and the balance 
of the Army of the James, and Wright with the Sixth Corps, holding 
our works in front of Petersburg. Grant's headquarters were that 
night in the centre, south of the Vaughan road and close to Gravelly 
Run. 

To understand clearly the wonderful part that Sheridan played in 
the next few days, the position of Lee must be fully comprehended. 
Richmond was half starved. Petersburg was a demoralized camp. 
Many of the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia were negatively 
hostile to a continuance of the struggle for the Confederate cause and 
its government. General Lee they worshiped and they would follow 
him. The corps and divisions were held by their leaders and the men's 
admiration in them. This indiflerence or semi-hostility was never 



282 THE LIFE OF 

openly expressed. But it was felt, nevertheless- There was only one 
way out for Lee : a retreat to the southwest, by the line of the Rich- 
mond and Danville railroad. Looking at the conditions then existing, 
it may well be doubted if Lee had any real expectation of escaping 
from Grant with his half-fed and semi-naked troops. If so, it could 
have been only to commence a desultory, semi-detached w^artare which 
must have very speedily degenerated into a partisan, guerrilla struggle, 
sure to have made far more difficult, w ith each recurring day's action, 
anv liberal settlement of the terrible dispute which had put, hrst and 
last, over three million men under arms. 

It may be well to indicate the troops with which this great task in 
its final phases, was to be accomplished. With Sheridan, fighting the 
battle of Five Forks, and serving, too, as the fighting advanced, in all 
subsequent operations, the roster of March 31st shows the following 
commands, as engaged in the final movements. In the field and at 
Five Forks were the 

FIFTH ARMY CORPS. 
Major-General Gouverneur K. Warren. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Charles Griffin. 

First Brigade. — Brigadier-General Joshua L. Chamberlain. 

Secofid Brigade. — Colonel Edgar M. Gregory. 

Third Brigade. — Brigadier-General Joseph J. Bartlett. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Romlyn B. Ayers. 

First Brigade. — Colonel Frederick Winthrop. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel Andrew W. Denneson. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel James Gwyn. 

THIRD DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Samuel W. Crawford. 

First Brigade. — Colonel John A. Kellogg. 
Seco7id Brigade. — Brigadier-General Henry Baxter. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel Richard Coulter. 
Artillery Brigade. — Colonel Charles S. Wainwright. 

The cavalry, Sheridan's own command, consisted of four divisions, 
all under Major-General Torbett, as chief of cavalry, two of which, 
under Merritt and Custer, were from the Shenandoah Valley, one 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 283 

under Crook, of the Army of the Potomac proper, and the fourth under 
McKenzie, was from the Army of the James. The roster shows the 
following commands : 

Major-General Torbett, Chief of Cavalry, Commanding. 

ARMY OF THE SHENANDOAH. 
Brigadier General Wesley Merritt. 

first division. 

Brigadier-General Thomas C. Deven. 

Firsi Brigade. — Colonel Peter Stagg. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel Charles T. Fitzhugh. 

Third Brigade. — Brigadier-General Alfred Gibbs. 

THIRD DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General George A. Custer. 

First Brigade. — Colonel Alexander C. M. Pennington. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel William Wells. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel Henrj' Capehart. 

SECOND DIVISION (ARMY OP THE POTOMAC .) 

Major-General George Crook. 

First Brigade. — Brigadier-General H. E. Davies. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel |. Irvin Gregg. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel Charles H. Smith. 



ARMY OF THE JAMES. 

CAVALRY DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Ranald S. McKenzie. 

First Brigade. — Colonel Robert M. West. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel Samuel P. Spear. 

In the subsequent pursuit of Lee that culminated at Appomattox, 
the following corps were also associated with General Sheridan : 



ARMY OF THE JAMES. 
JMajor-General Edward O. C. Ord. 

GENERAL HEADQUARTERS AND UNATTACHED COMPANIES. 

Signal Corps. — Captain T. B. Norton. 
Engineers. — Colonel James F. Hall. 



284 



THE LIFE OF 



Cavalry. — Colonel Francis "Washburn, Colonel Edwin V. Sumner, Colonel 
Charles F. Adams, Jr. 



TWENTY-FOURTH ARMY CORPS. 

Major-General John Gibbon. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Robert S. Foster. 

First Brigade. — Colonel Thomas O. Osborn. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel George B. Dandy. 
Fourth Brigade. — Colonel Harrison S. Fairchild. 

THIRD DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Charles Devens. 

First Brigade. — Colonel Edward H. Ripley. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel Michael T. Donohue. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel Samuel H. Robert. 

ARTILLERY. 
Captain James R. Angel. 

Of the Army of the Potomac were the following organizations 

SECOND ARMY CORPS. 
Major-General Andrew A. Humphreys. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Nelson A. Miles. 

First Brigade. — Colonel George W. Scott. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel Robert Nugent. 
Third Brigade.— Co\one\ Henry J. Madili. 
Fourth Brigade. — Colonel John Ramsey. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General William Hays. 

First Brigade. — Colonel William A. Olmstead. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel James P. Mclvor. 

Third Brigade. — Brigadier-General Thomas A. Smyth. 

third division. 

Brigadier General Gershom Mott. 

First Brigade. — Brigadier-General Regis De Tobriand. 
Second Brigade. — Brigadier-General Byron R. Pierce. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel Robert McAllister. 
Artillery Brigade. — Major John G. Hazard. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 28^ 

SIXTH ARMY CORPS. 
Major-General Horatio G. Wright. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Frank Wheaton. 

First Brigade. — Colonel William H. Penrose. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel Joseph E. Hamblin. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel Oliver Edwards. 

SECOND division. 

Brigadier-General George W. Getty. 

First Brigade. — Colonel James N. Warner. 

Second Brigade.'- — Brigadier-General Lewis A. Grant. 

T/tird Brigade.— Co\ot\q\ Thomas W. Hyde. 

THIRD DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Truman Seymour. 

First Brigade. — Colonel William S. Truex. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel J. Warren Keifer. 
Artillery Brigade. — Captain Andrew Cowan. 

Upon Sheridan's vigilance, however, largely depended the consum- 
ination of Lee's necessity — the desperate venture of a great soldier's 
despair. That last night in March was a dismal one. It rained until 
the roads became sheets of water, and almost impassable. The men 
began to feel as if they had really gone through Virginia in a number 
of places. It seemed as if the waters themselves might knock the 
bottom out of the Confederacy. 

Just above Dinwiddie Court House, at least thirty-five miles south 
of Richmond, was the important strategetical position of Five Forks 
which Lee had seized and begun to fortify. In his later raid, after 
reaching City Point from Winchester, Sheridan had succeeded in 
destroying part of the Richmond and Danville railroad. Hence, 
Lee's escape from Richmond must be over the country roads. Pickett 
was at Five Forks, to protect Lee's right, with nearly all the Con- 
federate cavalry and a large body of infantry. The rain held on all of 
the 30th, the morning upon \vhich Grant gave Sheridan orders to "go 
in." It was to prevent Lee's holding this strategetical position that the 
great movement and battle of Five Forks was fought and won. The 
last of March was, said Sheridan to General Horace Porter, of Grant's 
staff', " one of the liveliest days in his experience." He had fought 
Infantry and cavalry, and had only his troopers to do it with. The 



286 THE LIFE OF 

result was that he asked for the Sixth Corps, which had been under 
him in the Shenandoah Valley. Wright was too far ofl', however, and 
Warren was therefore ordered up with the Fifth Corps, which reached 
Dinwiddle by daylight. 

This was the opening of the great " barn door" movement, graphi- 
cally presented in a preceding chapter. General Porter describes 
Sheridan's manner atone period of that momentous ist of April : 

" The Fifth Corps had borne the brunt of the infantry fighting ever 
since the army had moved out on the 29th, and the gallant men who 
composed it were eager once more to cross bayonets with their old 
antagonists. But the movement was slow, the reqviired formation seemed 
to drag, and Sheridan, chafing with impatience and consumed with 
anxiety, became as restive as a racer when he nears the line, and is 
struggling to make the start. He made every possible appeal for 
promptness ; he dismounted from his horse, paced up and down, struck 
the clenched fist of one hand into the palm of the other, and fretted like 
a caged tiger." * 

The same authority declares that Five Forks was "one of the most 
interesting technical battles of the war, almost perfect in conception, 
brilliant in execution, strikingl}' dramatic in its incidents, and produc- 
tive of immensely important results." And this is the way the news 
of the victory was carried back, and received by Grant and his staff'. 
General Porter says in the same article that he was with Sheridan all 
day: 

"About half-past seven, I started for general headquarters. The 
roads in places were corduroyed with captured muskets ; ammunition 
trains and ambulances were still struggling forward for miles ; team- 
sters, prisoners, stragglers, and wounded were choking the roadway ; 
the ' coffee-boilers ' had kindled their fires ; cheers were resounding on 
all sides, and everybody was riotous over the victory. A horseman 
had to pick his way through this jubilant condition of things as best 
he could, as he did not have the right of way by any means. As I 
galloped past a group of men on the Boydton plank, my orderly called 
out to them the news of the victory. The only response he got was 
from one of them who raised his open hand to his face, put his thumb 
to his nose, and yelled : ' No you don't — April fool ! ' I then realized 
that it was the ist of April. T had ridden so rapidly that I reached 
headquarters at Dabney's Mill before the arrival of the last courier 

Century, November, 1887. " Grant's Last Campaign." 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 287 

I had dispatched. General Grant was sitting with most of his staff 
about him, before a blazing camp-fire. He wore his blue cavalry over- 
coat, and the ever-present cigar w^as in his mouth. I began shouting 
the good news as soon as I got in sight, and in a moment all but the 
imperturbable general-in-chief were on their feet, giving vent to 
wild demonstrations of joy. For some minutes there was a bewilder- 
ing state of excitement, grasping of hands, tossing up of hats, and 
slapping each other on the backs. It meant the beginning of the end ; 
the reaching of the ' last ditch.' It pointed to peace and home. . . . 
After having listened attentively to the description of Sheridan's day's 
work, the general, with scarcely a word, walked into his tent, and by 
the light of a flickering candle, took up his ' manifold writer,' a small 
book whicli retained a copy of the matter written, and after finishing 
several dispatches, handed them to an orderly to be sent over the field 
wires, came out and joined our group at the camp-fire, and said as 
coolly as if remarking upon the state of the weather : ' I have ordered 
an immediate assault along the lines.' This was about 9 o'clock." 

Next morning at the earliest streak of gray, tlie men in blue were in. 
Before svmrise Wi'ight had carried the lines in his front, and was 
pushing into Petersburg. Parke's dispatch came next, announcing that 
he had taken the outer works in his front, and captured twelve guns 
and eight hundred prisoners. Ord's came next with " I have broken 
through their inti-enchments " and Humphrey kept hard and success- 
fully at the foe in his front. Prisoners by the thousand were passed 
to the rear. Grant ordered Meade and Ord, commanding the two 
armies of the Potomac and the James, to face towards the east and close 
up on the inner lines which covered Petersburg. Up to this point the 
completeness of the assault had prevented Lee from attempting the 
recovery of any of his lost ground. But he turned on Parke's corps, 
threatening his left and the Petersburg bridge across the Appomattox, 
and, of course, his line of retreat. Parke resisted and repulsed these 
fierce attacks. The struggle went on all day, without an actual decis- 
ion, Grant refusing to permit a general assault. He felt certain that 
Petersburg would be evacuated that night, and would not allow the 
sacrifice of life involved in taking it by storm. His view of it was sus- 
tained by the fact that before five in the morning, Parke had pierced the 
lines, and the city had surrendered. Lee was out of it before three in 
the morning. In the final assault on Petersburg by the famous Ninth 
Corps of the Army of the Potomac, its roster showed the following 
commands : 



288 THE LIFE OF 

NINTH ARMY CORPS. 
Major-General John G. Parke. 

first division. 

Brigadier-General Orlando B. Willcox. 

First Brigade. — Colonel Samuel Harriman. 

Second Brigade. — Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Ely. 

Third Brigade. — Lieutenant-Colonel Gilbert P. Robinson. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General Robert B. Potter. 

First Brigade. — Colonel John I. Curtin. 

Second Brigade. — Brigadier-General Simon G. Griffin. 

Major-General Meade received orders to press the whole of his 
available force in pursuit of Lee, and to follow himself, while Grant 
remained to receive Mr. Lincoln, who had telegraphed that he w^as on 
the way to see him. Richmond w^as also taken at 8.15, on the same 
morning, though the news was not received by Grant till late in the 
afternoon, several hours after he had joined the troops pursuing Lee. 
The Twenty-fifth Army Corps of the Army of the James, under Major- 
General Godfrey Weitzel, to whom was assigned the task of entering 
and^occupying Richmond, reported its roster as follows : 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Brigadier General August V. Kautz. 

F'irst Brigade. — Colonel Alonzo G. Draper. 

Second Brigade. — Brigadier-General Edward A. Wild. 

Attached Brigade. — Colonel Charles S. Russell. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Brigadier-General William Birney. 

First Brigade. — Colonel James Shaw, Jr. 
Seeond Brigade. — Colonel Ulysses Doublebay. 
Third Brigade.— Co\one\ W. W. Woodward. 
Artillery Brigade. — Captain Loomis L. Langdon. 

Sheridan was far ahead and pushing fiercely to cut off Lee's retreat 
southward. Grant himself was somewhat alarmed for his safety, and 
urged Meade forward with the infantry corps as rapidly as was possible. 
As always, much depended upon the qualities and characters of the 
corps commanders, who in these circumstances proved equal to all cir- 
cumstances, aiding and reinforcing Sheridan at all opportune periods. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 289 

On the evening of April 5th, one of Sheridan's scouts in Confederate 
uniform, was brought to Grant, or seen and recognized by his staff while 
being arrested. He brought, wrapped in tinfoil and concealed in his 
mouth, Sheridan's famous dispatch describing the situation at Jeters- 
ville, and ending with the suggestive remark " I w^ish you were here 
yourself." Jetersville is a station on the Richmond and Danville road, 
about thirty miles south by west of Richmond. The infantry, General 
Ord in advance, was swinging by the left flank a little further south, 
and were beyond Nottoway Station. Sheridan and the cavalry had struck 
directly north by west from Dinwiddle and Five Forks, after the battle, 
to intercept Lee as he moved south from Petersburg and Richmond. 

Grant's great anxiety was that Lee should not escape and precipitate 
himself on Sherman. He ordered Miles' division to swing around to the 
White Oak road, and join Sheridan. The furious bombardment at 
Petersburg was also kept up till morning. Miles reported at daybreak. 
He was ordered to attack the enemy at the intersection of the White 
Oak and Claiborne roads. They were found in force and position, and 
Sheridan followed Miles immediately with two divisions of the Fifth 
Corps. Driven from their position, the Confederates were pursued by 
Miles across Hatcher's Run and towards the Southside railroad. 
Humphrey soon arrived with the balance of his corps, and reassumed 
full command. vSheridan then returned to Five Forks with the Fifth 
Corps. He sent Merritt westward across Hatcher's Run to break up 
the rebel cavalry, which had reassembled north of the stream. They, 
however, would not fight, and were pursued by Merritt in a northerly 
direction to the Appomattox River. Sheridan then, with the Fifth 
Corps, crossed Hatcher's Run, and struck the Southside railroad, north 
of Five Forks. Meeting no opposition, they marched rapidly, and came 
up in flank and rear of the enemy, opposing Miles. During this interval 
Miles had gained a signal victory, and when Sheridan arrived the rebels 
were in a precipitate flight. Sheridan overtook them on the main road 
along the Appomattox River, and the cavalry and Crawford's division 
attacked them at nightfall. In the darkness, however, they escaped. 

West of the rebel centre all had now been driven beyond the Appo- 
mattox by Sheridan, who was directed by Grant to cross the river 
west of Lee's army, with the Fifth Corps and his cavalry. " You may 
cross where you please," said Grant. " The position and movements 
of the enemy will dictate your movements after vou cross. All we 
want is to capture or beat the enemy." Sheridan, anticipating the 
evacuation of Petersburg, had commenced moving west. The cavalry 

19 



290 THE LIFE OF 

advanced and pressed the enemy's trains. Sheridan designed to reach 
the Danville road as rapidly as possible. Grant telegraphed him : 

"It is imderstood that the enemy will make a stand at Amelia Court 
House. . . . The first object will be to intercept Lee's army ; 
the second to secure Burksville." 

Sheridan moved in accord with orders. Soon after breaking camp 
there was some skirmishing on Merritt's front, but no serious fighting 
occurred until Deep Creek was reached. At this place a strong body 
of infantry was encountered. Merritt attacked with spirit, driving the 
enemy from the ford, and pushing vigorously on the opposite side. 
The Fifth Corps followed rapidly, and picked up many prisoners, as 
well as five abandoned field guns. But there was no fighting this day, 
except by our cavalry. At night, Sheridan had 1,300 prisoners. 
The cavalry encamped at Deep Creek. By daylight, on the 4th, our 
troopers were again in motion ; Merritt moving towards the Appo- 
mattox, and following the force he had driven from Deep Creek 
the day before, while Crook was ordered to strike the Danville road, 
between Jetersville and Burkeville, and then move up to Jetersville. 
The Fifth Corps moved rapidly in the same direction. During this day 
Grant sent a dispatch to Sheridan, stating that two railroad trains, 
loaded with supplies, were on the way from Danville, for Lee's army, 
and had been up the road to Farmville. 

"It was imderstood," he said, "that Lee was to accompany his 
troops, and that he was bound for Danville, by way of Farmville. 
Unless you have more positive information of the movements of the 
enemy, push on with all dispatch to Farmville, and try to intercept the 
enemy there." 

Sheridan, however, was again in Lee's front. At 5 o'clock the 
head of the Fifth Corps arrived at Jetersville, after a march of sixteen 
miles. Here a message was captured from Lee, ordering 200,000 
rations immediately from Danville, to feed his army. The dispatch 
had not yet gone over the wires, but Sheridan gave it to a scout to take 
to Burkeville, and have it telegraphed from there, in the hope that the 
rations might be forwarded within the Union lines. The scout suc- 
ceeded in sending the message, but other news traveled quite as fast, 
and the rations went on to Farmville, where they were captured. 
Discovering that Lee and his army were at Amelia, Sheridan ordered 
Griffin (Fifth Corps) to intrench across the railroad, until he could be 
reinforced. That command went into position, throwing up breast- 
works as it arrived, and Sheridan at once sent word back to Grant t'hat 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 291 

he had intercepted Lee, He also sent an aide-de-camp to Meade at 
Deep Creek, a long day's march from Jetersville. It was well into 
the night when the messenger arrived, and althongh Meade was nn- 
well, and in bed, he roused himself at the stirring news, and issued an 
order to march at 3 o'clock in the morning. Meade was the senior 
of Sheridan, in rank and service, but he sent him word : 

" The Second and Sixth corps will be with you as soon as possible. 
In the meantime your wishes or suggestions as to any movement other 
than the simple one of overtaking you, will be promptly acceded to by 
me, regardless of any other consideration than the vital one of destroy- 
ing the Army of Northern Virginia." 

Sheridan had meanwhile recalled Merritt and McKenzie from the 
right, and the head of Meade's command encountered the cavalry 
marching in the darkness. The double column crowded the road, and 
the infantry was delayed until Merritt's troopers had passed. • 

Everything was quiet that night at Jetersville. In the morning the 
enemy made no demonstration. Sheridan sent a brigade under Davies 
as far to the left as Paine's cross-roads, five miles northwest, to ascer- 
tain if Lee was making attempts to escape in that direction. Davies 
soon discovered that Sheridan's suspicions were correct. Lee was 
already moving a train of wagons towards Painesville, escorted by a 
considerable body of cavalry. Davies at once attacked, and defeated 
this cavalry, burned 180 wagons, and captured five cannons and several 
hundred prisoners. A force of rebel infantry was sent to cut him off. 
Two brigades of Crook's were pushed to his assistance, and a heavy 
fight ensued, in which the rebels were severely repelled. At 2 
o'clock Meade arrived at Jetersville in advance of the Second Corps, 
which came up an hour later.* Meade was still unwell, and requested 

* The forces at General Meade's headquarters consisted of the following 
commands : 

Provost Guard. — Colonel George N. Macy. 

Engineer Brigade. — Brigadier-General Henry W. Benham. 

Battalion United States Engineers. — Captain Franklin Harwood. 

Artillery. — Brigadier-General Henry J. Hunt. 

Siege Train. — Colonel Henry L. Abbot. 

Headquarters Guard.— Captain Richard G. Lay. 

Quartermaster's Guard. — Colonel R. N. Batchelder. 

Signal Corps. — Captain Charles N. Davis. "*■ 

Independent Brigade.— Colonel Charles H. T. Collis. 



292 THE LIFE OF 

Sheridan to put the Army of the Potomac into position as it arrived. 
Sheridan placed two divisions of Humphreys onthe left of the Fifth 
Corps, and one on the right, and Merritt, who had now come up, was 
placed on the left of the infantr}'. The vigorous movement against 
Crook on the left led Sheridan to believe the enemy to be escaping in 
that direction. He was anxious to attack with the force in hand — his 
cavalry and two corps of infantry ; but at this juncture, Meade felt him- 
self well enough to come out and assume command, and, much to 
Sheridan's mortification, he decided not to attack until the arrival of 
the Sixth Corps. Meade was the senior, and his wishes prevailed ; the 
attack was delayed. A captured letter from a rebel officer to his mother, 
describing the condition of the Confederate forces, was just then brought 
to Sheridan, who sent it to Grant with the following dispatch : 

Jetersville, 3 p. M. 
I send you the enclosed letter, which will give you an idea of the 
condition of the enemy and their whereabouts. I sent General Davies' 
brigade this morning around on my left flank. He captured at Paine's 
cross-roads five pieces of artillery, about two hundred wagons, and 
eight or nine battle-flags, and a number of prisoners. The Second 
Army Corps is now coming up. I ivish you were here yourself. I 
feel confident of capturing the Army of NorthernVirginia, if we exert 
ourselves. I see no escape for Lee. I will put all my cavalry out on 
ovn* left flank, except McKenzie, who is on the right. 

Immediately on receipt of Sheridan's dispatch. Grant determined 
to join his cavalry commander. A ride of twenty miles, with an escort 
of only fourteen men, skirting close to the enemy's lines a portion of 
the time, brought Grant to vSheridan's bivouac at twelve minutes j^ast 
ten. This was on the 5th of April. 

The Sixth Corps had arrived at 6 o'clock, and was placed by 
Meade on the right of the army, but no arrangement had been made to 

The following other commands were also engaged at various points on the 
great arc of our operations : 

INDEPENDENT DIVISION OF THE ARMY OF THE JAMES. 
Brigadier-General John W. Turner. 
First Brigade. — Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Potter. 
Second Brigade. — Colonel William B. Curtis. 
Third Brigade. — Colonel Thomas M. Harris. 

DEFENSES OF BERMUDA HUNDRED. 
Major-General George L. Hartsuff. 
Pontoniers. — Lieutenant-Colonel Peter S. Michil. 
Separate Brigade. — Brigadier-General Joseph B. Carr. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



293 




advance before 
morning. Sheri- 
dan -was convinced 
that Lee v\^ould not 
remain to be at- 
tacked, and Grant 
coincided with 
him. He deter- 
mined to forestall 
Lee's design. After 
midnight Grant 
visited Meade, 
whom he found in 
bed and still ailing. 
Meade explained 
his views to Grant, 
but failed to con- 
vince him, and the 
general took a pen- 
cil and wrote in- 
structions for the 
movement of the 
entire army, revers- 
ing Meade's plan, 
directing the whole 
force to move towards the left flank at daylight. Sheridan with the 
cavalry was dispatched in the direction of Deatonsville, about five 
miles west of the railroad. 

The movement of General Lee was a self-evident one. Leaving 
Amelia Court House, he pushed south by west towards Danville. It 
was not his purpose to fight our army except as necessary to make 
secure his retreat. Other troops were stationed to the south, and sup- 
plies were more abundant. It was necessary that our pursuit should be 
hot and determined. On the 6th, Sheridan and Ord followed closely on 
the heels of Lee, and the fierce battle of Saylor's Creek was fought 
against the rebel rear. It was a hot fight, and our cavalry, especially 
under Custer and Merritt, performed prodigies of valor. Six general 
officers, 7,000 prisoners, and a large number of flags and guns were 
captvn-ed. Lee's wagon train and headquarters wagons were captured. 

Sheridan had ordered General Crook to strike another of the Con- 
federate wagon trains then being escorted on his left by a heavy force 



GEN. J. IRVIN GREGG, 

A DISTINGUISHED BRIGADE COMMANDER IN SHERIDAN'S CORPS. 



294 THE LIFE OF 

of cavalry. In this attack the Federals were repulsed, but General 
Custer, who had pressed far in advance of Crook, had arrived at Sa^'lor's 
Creek, a tributary of the Appomattox, and was intrenched across the 
path of the Confederates. Two divisions, those of Crook and Deven, 
now pressed up to his support, and the Confederate line was pierced 
and 400 wagons, sixteen guns, and many prisoners were captured. 

Ewell's corps was thus cutoff from the main body of Confederates, 
and being attacked by overwhelming forces, after the most desperate 
fighting fell back to Saylor's Creek. This position was held until the 
Federals were reinforced by Wheaton's division, and after stubborn 
fighting Ewell's veterans surrendered. The fighting began again early 
in the morning, and the pursuit was resumed by the Second Corps, which 
came up with the Confederates under General Mahone, at High Bridge, 
where a spirited engagement took place, resulting in victory to the 
Federals. Generally the Confederates felt that the "crack o' doom" 
was near. 

Sheridan always appeared to anticipate Grant's plans and wishes. 
On that last pursuit, after the fight at Saylor's Creek, the general 
thought it was necessary to extend the cavalry pursuit further to the 
west, in order to intercept the fugitives and to capture any scattered 
forces that might slough off' from Lee's main army. Sheridan had 
already taken steps. He was endeavoring to capture the trains of pro- 
visions which had been sent Lee from Danville or Lynchbiu-g. He 
proposed to capture them and he did it. This tremendous activity of 
Sheridan had its effect on the enemy. Says a Southern writer : 

"And so the retreat rolls on. We are passing abandoned cannon, 
and wrecked and overturned wagons, and their now useless contents 
belonging to the quartermasters ; horses and mules dead or dying in 
' the mud. At night our march is lighted by the fires of burning wagons ; 
and the hoarse roar of cannon and the rattle of small arms before, 
behind, and on our flanks are ever in our ears. The constant march- 
ing and fighting without food or sleep is rapidly thinning the ranks of 
this grand old army. jSIen who have stood by their flags since the 
beginning of the war now fall out of the ranks and are captured, sim- 
ply because it is beyond their power of physical endurance to go any 
further." 

But one hope remained to Lee. Ruefully aware that Sheridan had 
intercepted his flight, he presumed his way blocked by cavalry alone, 
and at once ordered a charge of infantry. Sheridan was with his cav- 
alrv near the Court House when the Army of Virginia made its last 
charge. By his order, his troopers, who were in line of battle, dis- 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 29^ 

mounted, gave ground gradually, while showing a steady front, so as 
to allow our weary infantry time to form and take position. This 
effected, the horsemen moved swiftly to the right and mounted, reveal- 
ing lines of solid infantry in battle array, before whose wall of gleam- 
ing bayonets the astonished enemy recoiled in blank despair, as Sheri- 
dan and his troopers, passing briskly around the rebel left, prepared to 
charge the confused, reeling masses. A white flag was now waved by 
the enemy before General Custer, who held our cavalry advance, with 
the information that they had concluded to surrender. Riding over to 
Appomattox Court House, Sheridan was met by General Gordon, who 
requested a suspension of hostilities, with the assurance that negotia- 
tions were then pending between Grant and Lee for a capitulation. 

It was an all night vigil on the 8th of April. The day had been 
one ot hard fighting, exciting events, forced marches. Sheridan had 
placed his cavalry across the lines of Lee's retreat. The troopers stood 
to horse all that long, chill night. The commands of Ord,of the Army 
of the James, and of Grifiin and Gibbon, of the Army of the Potomac, 
were being hurried to position behind the cavalry screen. The end 
was near, and every one worked hard and earnestly. Morning came, 
and its gray shadows were not lifted when orders came to move forward. 
The " Spencers" of the cavalrymen were at once brought into effective 
use. We were on the higher ground, and looking over the plain below 
it could be seen that Lee's army was hemmed in and cut oft''. The 
Seventh Michigan Cavalry held the advance directly to the south. 
" Oh ! for Sheridan, now," was the ejaculation of its gallant commander, 
Colonel Briggs. Towards the west Custer's column was seen advanc- 
ing. Informed of the condition of affairs, Custer immediately pre- 
pared for a charge, and said to Colonel Briggs, " Show me the way." 

" Custer's command on this occasion presented a most striking and 
beautiful effect in color, as also in concentrated power for action. Fol- 
lowing the general and his staff', and thrown to the morning breeze, 
floated not less than twenty-five rebel battle-flags captured from the 
enemy within ten days. These, with division, brigade, and regimental 
colors of the command, the red neckties of the men, and the blue and 
yellow of their uniforms, made a picture, as with flashing sabres 
they moved into view, at once thrilling and beautiful."* 

Just as the lines were formed, and the buglers waited an order to 
charge, there suddenly emerged from out a piece of woods in the left 
front three or four horsemen, the leader of whom waved something 
white over his head. It was Lee's famous flag of truce. They rode 

* Life and Deeds of General U. S. Grant, p. 64, by Frank A. Burr, Philadelphia. 



296 THE LIFE OF 

up to Colonel Briggs, who had moved forward to meet them, and asked 
for the " general commanding." 

Custer was pointed out, and the Confederates rode rapidly towards 
him. A few moments' parley, and then they returned, Brigadier- 
General Whittaker, Custer's chief of staff', riding with them. All 
this, brief as the time was, the whole line saw, and the word passed 
that Lee was to surrender. Colonel Briggs was permitted to ride 
with the returning party, and it is from his narrative that this account 
is abridged. The party rode to Lee's headquarters. General Whit- 
taker entered with the flag-bearer. Colonel Briggs, remaining with- 
out, was quickl}' interrogated as to the object of the flag of truce. On 
suggesting that it probably related to terms of surrender, many of the 
Confederate officers grew indignant. One officer felt especially insulted 
and had to be suppressed by his associates. The conversation within 
lasted twenty minutes, and then the party moved away. 

General Whittaker tells the story of the flag negotiations more in 
detail. When the bearer rode up, and presenting General Lee's com- 
pliments, asked for a cessation of hostilities, pending a reply from 
General Grant as to surrender, General Custer replied : 

" I am not in sole command upon this field, but will report the 
request to General Sheridan, and I can only stop the charge upon an 
announcement of an unconditional surrender." 

Custer turned to his chief of staff, saying : 
" Whittaker, return with this officer, and say to General Lee that I 
cannot suspend hostilities or stay this charge without the assurance 
that his army is here to be unconditionally surrendered ; and get me 
his answer as soon as possible." 

The mission was undertaken and made. On arrival at Lee's 
headquarters, it was learned that he had gone in search of General 
Grant. Generals Longstreet and Gordon were found, and their assur- 
ances were received, that an unconditional surrender of the Army of 
Northern Virginia was intended. General Whittaker then started to 
return to Custer. Lee's army was found, during the ride through it, to 
be ready for battle. Grant was not aware then that Sheridan had built 
his wall of infantry across Lee's path, and the latter desired to make 
terms before this knowledge should reach the general. Our lines were 
moving, as Whittaker dashed into the centre, waving the ffag of truce 
above his head. This, by the way, was a towel obtained from a vil- 
lager. After its important use was over, General Whittaker cut off' a 
corner of it, handing the towel itself to General Custer as a memento 
of the historical occasion. It is now in Mrs. Custer's possession. 



^ GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 297 

A writer in the Blue and Gray describes some of that morning's 
scenes as follows : 

"Had it been only Sheridan that barred the way the sun^ender 
would not have occurred at Appomattox ; but Gordon only drove back 
the cavalry to find himself confronted by the Army of the James, and 
their bayonets could now be seen advancing through the trees, and the 
road was blocked "with ten times his number. 

" It was then that the flag of truce was raised by an agreement 
with Sheridan and Gordon. 

" Presently a Federal cavalry officer was observed coming down 
the road toward our forces ; he wore his hair very long, and it was of 
a light or reddish color. In his hand he carried a white handkerchief, 
which he constantly waved up and down. He inquired for General 
Lee, and was directed to General Longstreet upon the hill. Upon 
approaching the general he dismounted and said : ' General Long- 
street, in the name of General Sheridan and myself I demand the sur- 
render ot this army. I am General Custer.' 

" General Longstreet replied : ' I am not in command of this army. 
General Lee is, and he has gone back to meet General Grant in regard 
to a surrender.' 

" ' Well,' said Custer, ^ no matter about General Grant ; we demand 
the surrender be made to us. If you do not do so, we will renew hos- 
tilities, and any bloodshed will be upon your head !' 

" ' Oh, well,' said Longstreet, ' if you do that I will do my best to 
meet you.' Then turning to his staff', he said : ' Colonel Manning, 
please order General Johnston to move his division to the front, to the 
right of General Gordon. Colonel Latrobe, please order General 
Pickett forward to General Gordon's left. Do it at once ! ' Custer 
listened with suiprise depicted upon his countenance ; he had not 
thought so many of our troops were at hand with Longstreet. He, 
cooling oft' immediately, said : 

" ' General, probably we had better wait until we hear from Grant 
and Lee. I will speak to General Sheridan about it ; don't move your 
troops yet.' 

" And he mounted and withdrew in a much more quiet style than in 
his approach. 

" As he passed out of hearing, Longstreet said quietly, with that 
peculiar chuckle of his : 

*' ' Ha ! ha ! that young man has never learned to play the game of 
"brag."' The divisions of Johnston and Pickett were only a myth, 
and had no existence whatever after the fight at Five Forks." 



298 THE LIFE OF 

Lieutenant-General J. B. Gordon, now with General Joseph E. 
Johnston, the most distinguished of living Confederate officers, told to 
Colonel F. A. Burr the following interesting incidents of the surrender 
at Appomattox : 

" A cavalry officer came to me from Sheridan with a flag of truce. 
He was a handsome fellow and very polite. Saluting, he said : 

" ' Is this General Gordon? I am the bearer of General Sheridan's 
compliments, and he demands your unconditional surrender.' 

"• 'Well, colonel,' (or whatever I saw his rank was), I answered, 
'you will please return my compliments to General Sheridan, and say 
that I shall not surrender.' 

" ' Then,' he said, 'you will be annihilated in half an hour. We 
have you completely surrounded.' 

" ' Very well, sir,' I replied. ' I am probably as well aware of my 
situation as you are, but that is my ansvver.' 

" ' You don't mean that ! ' he exclaimed. 

" ' Yes I do, sir,' I said ; ' the only thing I propose to say is what I 
have already said through my staft' officer — that a flag of truce is in 
existence between General Lee and General Grant.' I was not going 
to surrender, because I knew it was coming. I was not going to let 
Sheridan capture me in that way. 

" ' Then you will be annihilated,' he said, and rode away. 

"While I had been sitting there waiting, the firing had almost 
ceased. The infantry on my flanks had not changed their position 
much, as they had been moving up very slowly. I was firing artillery 
at the time, so as to check them. In a few minutes Sheridan himself 
came up with his staft'. He was riding an immense black horse. I 
will never forget how he looked with his short legs sticking out on 
either side. We had very much the same sort of parley as had occurred 
between the other officer and myself. Indeed, the language was almost 
a literal repetition. Finally I said to him : ' General, I hardly think 
that it is worth while for us to parley. I have made up my mind not 
to surrender, and I shall accejDt any consequences which may follow 
this determination. I wish simply to give you the information which 
was sent me by General Lee. All I know is that there is a flag of 
truce in existence, and I only know the bare fact.' 

" ' Did you say that you have a letter from General Lee.'' ' he asked. 

" I handed him the letter. 

" He looked it over and said : ' I suppose, then, that the only thing 
we can do is to cease firing.' 

" ' I think so,' I replied. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 299 

" He then said to me : ' If you will withdraw your forces to a cer- 
tain place, I will withdraw mine, and wait to see what happens.' 

" We got down oft' our horses, and taking a seat on the grass talked 
there for some time. In the meantime I had forgotten that early in 
the morning I had detached a force to go back and over on a brow of a 
hill to prevent the cavalry from coming ai'ound between Longstreet and 
myself. While we were sitting on the grass I heard a roll of musketry, 
and looking over to where the force had been placed saw it firing into 
some cavalry that had ridden down in that direction. 

" ' H — 1, sir, what does this mean? ' cried Sheridan. 

" ' I am very sorry about it,' I replied, as I explained the circum- 
stances, and he and I each sent an officer over to the hill to stop the 
firing. 

" I saved Sheridan's life that morning beyond question. One of 
my sharpshooters was a sour sort of fellow, and his only idea was that 
when he saw a blue-coat it was his duty to shoot at it. 1 had the 
sharpshooters around me when Sheridan came up with the flag of truce, 
and I saw this fellow draw his gun. 'What do you mean?' I cried, 
' this is a flag of truce.' He did not pay the slightest attention to me, 
and was just about firing when I knocked up his gun and it went oft', 
over Sheridan's head. ' Let him stay on his own side, general,' he 
muttered. 

" General Sheridan and I sat on the ground, close to the brick house 
where Lee and Grant met, in the orchard. I had passed the house in 
the morning. We chafted each other a little in the course of the conver- 
sation. Sheridan saying : ' I believe I have had the pleasure of meeting 
you before.' I replied that we had had some little acquaintance in the 
Valley of Virginia. He turned the thread of conversation to some guns 
he had received in the valley. Sheridan had captured nearly all of 
Early's artillery, and some more had been sent to him from Richmond. 
Some wag had written with chalk on one of these guns : ' Respectfully 
consigned to Major-General Sheridan through General Early.' Sheri- 
dan had heard of this, and he was very much amused at it ; but whether 
he ever saw such words upon a gun I do not know. When he was 
through with his story I suggested that I also had two guns which I 
could consign to him, and with the more grace because they had come 
from him that very morning. 

"Sheridan came with a full staft' and remained with me about an 
hour and a half. My recollection is that we stayed at that place until 
we received information that General Lee and General Grant had 
agreed." * 

* From Col. F. A. Burr's Life and Deeds of General U. S. Grant. 



300 THE LIFE OF 

It was high noon of the 7th of April, 1S65, when Grant with his 
staff, was at the little Farmville hotel. The village is south of the 
Appomattox, and is famous because Grant opened from there the sur- 
render correspondence with Lee. The latter was making a bold stand, 
north of the river, and Crook with his cavalry was being roughly 
handled. Humphreys' corps was also on the north side, and bearing 
the brunt of Lee's whole army. The Sixth Corps was hurried over 
that night. Sheridan was to the south, still moving by that terrible left 
flank with the rest of his cavalry. Lee was confronted again by 
Grant's fatal semi-circle. He could only break up and flee to the 
Appalachians at the west — sure destruction — or he could risk all on a 
final battle. General Grant offered another alternative, and asked for 
his surrender, on the afternoon of the 7th of April. Sheridan had 
sent word that he would probably capture Lee's supply train, which 
had nearly reached Appomattox Court House. Lee received the 
demand of Grant, and asked for terms, to which Grant returned in 
substance — peace only ! 

Everybody was in the lightest marching order, and it was made 
evident, also, that the Confederate army was also marching away — 
that is, crumbling to pieces. Next morning the end was reached. It 
would be superfluous to attempt to describe the scenes at the famous 
surrender. Our hero, Sheridan, barred the way of the rebel command. 
Lee realized this. He was so closely pressed that he had sent dupli- 
cates of his letter of surrender to Meade and Sheridan alike, as well 
as the original forwarded to Grant. The latter did not reach Appomat- 
tox till I p. M. 

The little Virginian village, of half a dozen houses, stands on some 
rising ground. Beyond it there is a broad valley to the south and west. 
Our cavalry was holding the high ridge to the west, and with a portion 
of Ord's troops, held the west and south. As Grant came up with his 
stafl^, Sheridan and Ord were seen in the road. As they met, Grant 
said : 

" How are you, Sheridan.?" 

" First rate, thank you. How are you.'"' 

His manner and tone indicated quite plainly that he was satisfied at 
least with the position of things. 

" Is Lee over there?" asked General Grant. 

" Yes ; he is in that brick hovise," was Sheridan's reply. 

"Well, then, we'll go over." And Grant rode on, followed by 
Sheridan, Ord, and some others. Grant went into the residence of 
Wilbur McLean, the others remaining in the front yard for a while, 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 301 

out of consideration for Lee. Shortly after, General Grant sent a 
request for them to come in. And in that room the terms of surrender 
were signed. Colonel Marshall, of Lee's stall', leaned his back against 
the mantel of the broad, open fireplace. In front of him sat General 
Lee. At the table fronting him was General Grant, Back of the table, 
and leaning against the wall, were Colonel Babcock and General Seth 
Williams, of the staft'. Near by, and behind Grant, standing with his 
sheathed sabre resting across his left arm, was General Sheridan. 
Next to him were Generals Ingalls and Barnard. Directly behind 
Grant's chair stood his chief of staff", General Rawlins, with other 
members of the staff' near by. General Ord was seated near the table. 
The others present were Colonels Badeau, Eli Parker, T. S. Bowers, 
Frederick T. Dent, and Horace Porter. 

Sheridan was as marked a figure, in face, pose, expi^ession, dress, 
as was Lee himself. The Confederate commander was in full uni- 
form, with sword and equipment, all of \thich were nearly or quite 
new. The condition of General Lee's and Celonel Marshall's clothing 
was explained by the fact that the activity of Sheridan's cavalry in 
attacking their baggage train had compelled officers to select the 
most neede.d articles and leave the rest to be destroyed, rather than 
have them fall into our hands. Shei'idan had fallen unconsciously, as 
the generals conversed, into a strikingly dramatic attitude. The others 
sat or lounged, with quiet if intense interest. Sheridan's attitude was 
that of the soldier who expected to be called suddenly to action. It 
was that of his mood, for during the \vhole marvelous pursuit in 
which he had led the attack and the advance he had been wrought up 
to the loftiest pitch of endurance, courage, foresight, and vital move- 
ment. Indeed, he could have almost stood as a model of Fate, so alert 
and unyielding was his attitude. Cavalry boots, rusty and soiled, 
covered half his short, sturdy limbs. He wore the full uniform of his 
rank, with sash, belt, and sword. His short, broad, sturdy form 
stood posed in strength. The head and face were remarkable. Beard- 
less, except a close, dark mustache, its striking form and lines were seen 
most clearly. The expression was that of set, fixed force and deter- 
mination. There was a tremendous degree of vitality in the notable 
figure — a great amount of intellectual reserve in the lined countenance. 
With close-ci'opped head and beardless face, the depth, height, and 
breadth of the general's remarkable cranium were felt by all. The 
jaw, strong and well defined, was 'not heavy. There was not a gross 
line to be seen. The arched brows dipped strongly to the interior, 
and were drawn close by the set, stern look habitual to him in the 



302 THE LIFE OF 

field. The Irish gray eyes followed searchhigly every facial movement 
of the Confederate leader. That the brain behind that fixed, impassive 
sternness W'as at work could be understood by one glance. Standing 
" at attention," with his heavy sheathed cavalry sabre resting on his left 
arm, Sheridan was indeed the embodied vigilance of the Union army. 

That morning fovuid ample cause for vigilance. The bold, ardent, 
ceaseless pursuit which had followed Five Forks, and especially 
marked the advance from Jetersville, had been rewarded by the secur- 
ing of the west ridge beyond Lee's position and by the rapid alignment 
of infantry across the only road by which Lee could move. The 
Confederates were enmeshed and knew it. The work of disabling 
guns and destroying military property was going on. Custer in the 
advance was as usual aching to attack and capture more guns. His 
division secured the last taken by actual combat in Virginia. It was a 
wonderfully picturesque sight, for the topographical features permitted 
a full display of our strengthening and encircling lines, as well as the 
hurried movements of the gallant enemy within the fateful circles form- 
ing about them. Lieutenant-General Gordon with his corps faced Sheri- 
dan and Ord, fretting with the impatience of valor. It was his desire 
to cut his way through, and the veterans behind him would at his word 
have tried it. Lee knew, however, that such sacrifice was useless, and 
took pains to forward to General Sheridan a copy of his letter to Grant, 
calling for a conference to arrange the terms of surrender. Sheridan 
received this at least an hour before Grant did, with information, also, of 
the short truce allowed by Meade, whose army was steadily pressed 
to its position. Sheridan at once rode down to meet Goixlon, accom- 
panied by Custer, Merritt, Deven, and others. 

How the news was received can be faintly seen by the following 
incident : Captain A. J. Ricks, of Major-General J. D. Cox's stafl^, 
was with that officer when the dispatch announcing Lee's surrender 
was read. The cheering frightened his horse, which dashed oft' at full 
speed,, heading to an approaching column of the army. The thought 
flashed through the rider's mind that this was an opportunity to carry 
the news through the whole army, so giving free rein to the excited 
horse, he rode on. The battalions opened for the horse and rider, and 
he shouted out the news as he sped onward. Captain Ricks narrates : 
" In one of the regiments, as I was sweeping through the ranks, I 
caught the bright face of a soldier leaning out from the lines as far as 
possible into the road, to catch the message that fell from my lips. 
'What is it.'' What is it?' he anxiously shouted. 'Lee has sur- 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 303 

rendered his whole army to Grant,' was the reply. Clear and loud, 
above all the voices, and quick as the message fell upon his ear, was 
his answer : ' Great God ! you're the man I've been looking for for the 
last four years.' " 

A little incident occurred which desei-ves mention, and it is given 
here in the words of General Horace Porter. After the formal terms 
of surrender were signed, and the staff" of General Grant had been intro- 
duced, General Lee took the initiative in bringing the conference to 
business again, and said : 

" 'I have a thousand or more of your men as prisoners. General 
Grant, a number of them officers, whom we have required to march 
along with us for several days. I shall be glad to seiid them into your 
lines as soon as it can be arranged, for I have no provisions for them. 
I have, indeed, nothing for my own men. They have been living for 
the last few days principally upon parched corn, and we are badly in 
need of both rations and forage. I telegraphed to Lynchburg, directing 
several train loads of rations to be sent on by rail from there, and when 
they arrive I should be glad to have the pi^esent wants of my men sup- 
plied from them.' 

"At this remark, all eyes turned towards Sheridan, for he* had 
captured these trains with his cavalry the night before, near Appomattox 
Station." 

The incident shows how complete was the Union environment, and 
how hopeless would have been any further struggle on the part of the 
Army of Northern Virginia. It is another evidence of Sheridan's 
ubiquity. The cavalry was always there — wherever that might be. 

Sheridan shared with the other officers, after Lee had ridden away, 
the desire to secure some relic of the memorable occasion in which he 
had been so stalwart an actor. But his desire took a generous turn, 
for paying McLean twenty dollars in gold for the little table on which 
Lee had signed the terms of surrender, he at once made a present of it 
to Mrs. Custer — through her husband. Porter says that Custer 
" started off" to camp bearing it upon his shoulder, and looking like 
Atlas carrying the world." And for the time being they were — these 
men of high valor — " carrying the world " on their shoulders. It was 
a memorable event. The accessories were simple enough, as always 
on really great occasions. But no field in human history has held 
higher hopes, and none have ever witnessed a larger magnanimity, a 
grander generosity. 



Chapter XXIV. 



THE CONFEDERATE CAVALRYMEN, 



THE SOUTHERN ADVANTAGE AT FIRST — CAVALRY OFFICERS MAKING FINE 
COMMANDERS — PLANTER AND FARMER FINDING THEIR HORSES AS TROOP- 
ERS — THE WADE HAMPTON AND ASHBY LEGIONS — THE LEES — HOW 
GENERAL LEE LEFT THE UNION SERVICE — "JEB" STUART THEIR BEST 

COMMANDER — SOUTHWESTERN LEADERS ALSO -=— ROSSER MOSEBY — WHAT 

GRANT SAID OF THE VIRGINIAN PARTISAN HIS SERVICES TO THE CON- 
FEDERACY — WHAT LEE SAID OF HIS USEFULNESS — THE " BOYS " ARE 
MARCHING HOME AGAIN — NOT ALL OF THEM. 



The cavalry of the Confeder- 
acy was a famous and terrible 
weapon in the hands of its lead- 
ers for more than the first half 
of the war period. The con- 
tempt of our organizers for this 
arm of the service brought to the 
people who deserved it not, a 
good deal of severe punishment. 
It is recalled as an illustration 
of how little men, set- in their 
ways, can unlearn, even by expe- 
rience, that as late as the fall of 
1864, and during the rapid retreat from Missouri of General Sterling 
Price aiKl his army, mostly mounted, that Rosecrans, commanding the 
Department of Missouri, coming up on the tail of the pursuit, sneered 
audibly at General Curtis, commanding the Department of Kansas, 
for pressing the enemy with the mounted forces under his control, 
which comprised only about half his command, and was much less in 
numbers than Price's beaten army. General Rosecrans remarked to 
the officer in command of an engineer party, that Curtis " could not 
keep it up." Our marches were then some thirty miles a day when 
not fighting. "You'll see; I'll have to come up at last with my 




GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 30^ 

infantry." As a matter of fact, in that pursuit " Rosy's " infantry never 
got within fifty miles of a battle-field, and Price was three times routed, 
and driven finally across the Arkansas River, 200 miles below where 
the infantry was to " come up," if at all. 

The Southern leaders, certainly at first, understood the logistics of 
the situation better than our own authorities. One reason of that is per- 
haps to be found in the fact that so many of the Confederate command- 
ers — those from the regular service especially — had been in the 
cavalry service. Jefferson Davis himself evidently appreciated this 
arm, as he took especial pains while Secretary of War, under Pierce, 
in organizing four additional regiments to the regular army, to procure 
the legislation necessary to equip thein as cavalry, and then to officer 
them with those who, it seemed to him, would best serve the South in 
the contingencies that were likely to arise. The ex-cavalrymen among 
commanding and leading generals of the Confederacy, can be named 
by the score. 

It was in the eastern division of our vast field of war that the 
cavalry service was after all brought to its highest perfection. And 
it was in that field, also, that the Confederacy aggregated of necessity 
some of its most useful cavalry commanders. It had the advantage in 
some degree of securing there the most experienced of the old army 
dragoons. Lee himself, J. E. B. Stuart, Fitzhugh Lee, Ewell, HilU 
Anderson, Sibley, Joseph E. Johnston, Steele, Hood, Jordan, Albert 
Sidney Johnston, and a hundred others who could be named, might 
be properly selected from our aiite bellutJi army as the fittest men 
to organize a cavalry force. The Confederates were not, also, with- 
out most gallant cavalry soldiers and leaders whose sabres carved their 
way from civil life to martial eminence. Among those still living are 
such men as Wade Hampton, Wheeler, Chalmers, and Moseby. Gen- 
eral Gordon himself has shown all the finest qualities of a cavalry com- 
mander. Of those who have passed away may be named with respect 
for soldierly qualities at least, Stuart, Forrest, Cleburne, Wickham, 
Gilmore, Ashby, Van Dorn, Ben. McCullough, and many others. 

Still, as at first in our own army, the engineer officers, like Beaure- 
gard, were made prominent. The exigencies of field service, however, 
soon put the trained cavalry commanders to the fore. The excellence 
of our West Point training was well illustrated there, in that it showed 
how easily its graduates could pass from one arm of the service to 
another, especially in the three active ones — infantry, cavalry, and 
artillery. 

20 



3o6 THE LIFE OF 

The planter was necessarily a horseman. His work of supervision 
in the main was done in the saddle. As a slave-holder, owning many 
or few human chattels, he was more of a man on the back of his saddle- 
horse in the eyes of his slaves, than when on foot like any ordinary 
person. He knew how to both ride and shoot. He was master, too, 
in more senses than one. Besides, this was the slave-holders' war, and 
there were barely more than sufficient of their class to hold the offices 
and commissions incidental to a great war. It cannot be denied, either, 
that in the South the men whose teachings were directed to secession 
were among the first to volunteer for the fight that ensued. 

What gave the Confederate cavahy, then, its first form and useful- 
ness was the rule adopted of requiring each recruit to mount himself. 
Equipments were sometimes or in part provided, sufficient to give some 
uniformity. The munificent sum of forty cents per day was allowed 
each trooper for the use of his horse. He "was required, however, to 
remount himself. The endeavor to achieve this necessity was the 
source of much of the activity shown by Moseby, Morgan, Duke, and 
other partisan leaders, in difl'erent parts of the large field of border 
operations. Such a condition applied to the raising of cavalry could 
only be made in an agricultural country. It was at first peculiarly 
adapted to the conditions of the South. The rich slave-holding planters, 
like Wade Hampton ; the ambitious and dashing leaders, like Wheeler 
and Chalmers, then lawyers and planters with careers before them ; the 
born horsemen like Forrest, Morgan, Moseby, the Ashbys, and others, 
were able to bring together a mounted yeomanry, accustomed to their 
horses, and used, in the rude atmosphere of slaveiy, to command. 
The early usefulness of the Confederate cavalry was due not alone to 
the character of the men who, by reason of the rule requiring them to 
furnish their own horses, enlisted in the service, but to the fact that the 
South had up to the Civil War, paid more attention than the North 
did to the breeding and training of fine saddle-horses. Besides that 
w^as the fact that the Southern trooper almost necessarily knew the 
country in which he was operating. Probably, also, two-fifths of the 
male eflectives of the Confederate States were constant ri-ders, owned 
their own stock, or were so related as to be able to procure their mount. 
Yet, as it turned out, given time and occasion, the loyal states were 
able, in the long run, to mould and make a better cavalry force, to 
mount it far more effectively, and handle it more efficiently for final 
victory. 

Wade Hampton, of South Carolina — one of the richest planters in 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 307 

the whole South, of revohitionary family, of high education and fine 
talents — was foremost in raising these troops. At the first Bull Run 
battle, Hampton's Legion was among the most notable of Confederate 
commands. With Ashby and the Virginian's " Black Horse " troop, 
the imaginations of our disordered and retreating soldiery were at that 
period most vividly filled. • Hampton, shortly after the death of Stuart 
at Yellow Tavern, was made a lieutenant-general, and placed in com- 
mand of Lee's cavalry. He possessed many of the qualities of a fine 
commander. He was cool in action, knew all about horses, had a way 
of winning his men, though without the hearty rollicksomeness of 
Stuart, or the headlong dash of Custer, while he was as remarkable as 
Sheridan in gathering accurate ideas of the topography through which 
he was moving. If he lacked anywhere, it was in a sort of immo- 
bility that prevented as much dash as cavalry demands. 

The Lees all appear to have become troopers, as if born to the 
saddle. " Fitz-Hugh," " Fitz-Lee," and " Rooney " were far more 
than ordinary horsemen and commanders. It was doubtless natural 
that this should be so, for their famous commander, and the head of 
their house, also, was himself a trained and thoroughly competent 
cavalry commander. At the time of his entrance into the Confederate 
service he was lieutenant-colonel of the Second Regiment of United 
States Cavalry. His headquarters were in the Indian Territory, within 
the western part of the Chickasaw country, probably at what is now 
known as Fort Sill, and were, fortunately for the Union cause, under 
command of Major George H. Thomas, the noble Virginian soldier 
w^ho did so much to honor his name by great service in the field to the 
Union cause. Albert Sidney Johnston, who fell at Shiloh, command- 
ing on the Confederate side, was its colonel. Lee was in Texas, en 
route to Washington, when Major-General Twiggs, United States 
Army, commanding that department, surrendered his command to the 
secession authorities of the Lone Star State. It is recorded that Lee then 
declared that he should resign on arriving home, and retire to his farm 
at Arlington, taking no part in the conflict on either side. This was in 
December, i860. He left San Antonio in January, 1861, to return to 
Washington, and was on duty with General Scott until after Mr. Lin- 
coln was inaugurated. The governor of Virginia had raised a so-called 
state army of 30,000 men, the command of which was tendered to Lee. 
He was also ofiered the position of senior major-general in the Union 
Army and with it the command of all the troops. He dallied with both 
offers, not idly, it is certain, but in the grave agony and doubt of a 



^o8 THE LIFE OF 

strong man who thought he sav\^ before him the parting ways of a 
divided duty. He chose to go with his state, and his resignation was 
offered on the 20th of April, 1861. On the 22d instant, at Arhng- 
ton, Lee received commissioners from the State Constitutional Conven- 
tion, then in session at Richmond, and in its name and that of Gov- 
ernor Letcher, was offered the command of the state troops, with the rank 
of major-general. Having accepted this offer, that evening Lee left for 
Richmond with his family. On the 23d, he w^as received by the state 
convention. Up to that date Virginia had not actually seceded. It is 
properly claimed by Union writers and critics that Lee's action did 
very much to put the state* into actual rebellion. No Federal force of 
any kind had entered the Old Dominion during the controversy. Not 
until it was actually known at army headquarters that Colonel Lee had 
not waited for the formal acceptance of his resignation before entering 
an hostile army was there any movement made in the direction of his 
arrest. It has been chai"ged that technically General Lee was a deserter, 
as an officer who offers his resignation is presumed to be still in the 
army, but under waiting orders. Ho^vever that may be, General Lee 
was the hei'o of the Confederate Army. History has managed, by reason 
of his strong, rovmded character, dignity, and personality, to impress 
him in a remarkable degree upon the burning pages of that period. 
In an interesting after-the-war volume,* a Southern writer describes Lee, 
as he appeared in the Peninsula Campaign. It was just before the 
battle of Gaines Mills. His headquarters were at Hogan's house, 
six and one-half miles to the northeast of Richmond. It had been used 
by our commanders, but as they retreated, Lee, with Longstreet, used it 
as a post of observation. It also bore the evidences of hospital use. 
General Lee, says the writer quoted, " sat in the south portico, absorbed 
in thought. Dressed in a dark uniform, buttoned to the throat, his 
calno, open countenance and gray hair would have tempted an artist to 
sketch him in this thoughtful attitude. Longstreet sat in an old garden 
chair, at the foot of the steps. With his feet thi^own against a tree, he 
presented a true type of the hardy campaigner ; his once gray vuiiform 
had changed to brown, and many a button was missing ; his riding-boots 
were dusty and worn ; but his pistols and sabre had a bright polish, by 
his side, while his charger stood near, anxiously looking for orders or 
recognition." An English officer who was visiting the Confederate 
army, described General Lee as " almost without exception one of 

• Southern Generals, William Parker Snow, p. 6i. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 309 

the handsomest of men." At that time he " was fifty-six years old, 
tall, broad shouldered, very well made, well set up — a thorough 
soldier in appearance — with manners most courteous and full of 
dignity." His costume, according to the same authority, was " a well- 
worn, long gray jacket, a high, black felt hat," and with his trousers 
" tucked into his Wellington boots." These realistic touches bring the 
man home to vis. It is not a matter to wonder at, then, that the Confed- 
erate cavalry service received his watchful care. The estimation in 
which Stuart — selected by Lee to command his cavalry — was held, is 
stated by General Longstreet, who in a Century article — " Our march 
Against Pope " — writes that " 'Jeb' Stuart was a very daring fellow and 
the best cavalryman America ever produced. At the second Manassas, 
soon after we heard of the advance of McDowell and Porter, Stuart 
came up and made a report to General Lee. When he had done so 
General Lee said he had no orders at that moment, but he requested 
Stuart to wait awhile. Thereupon he turned in his tracks, lay down 
on the ground, put a stone under his head, and instantly fell asleep. 
General Lee rode away, and in an hour returned. Stuart was still sleep- 
ing. Lee asked for him, and Stuart sprang to his feet and said : ' Here 
I am, general.' 

" General Lee replied : ' I want you to send a message to your troops 
on the left to send a few more cavalry over to the right.' 

" ' I would better go myself,' said Stuart, and with that he swung 
himself into the saddle and rode off at a rapid gallop, singing as loud 
as he could, ' Jine the Cavalry.' " 

To the gallant Stuart — -whom we may admire as a soldier, without 
accepting Longstreet's eulogy of him — is due the credit of inaugurating 
the first extensive raiding expedition of the war. The daring and 
dashing raid made by his command around McClellan's army after the 
battle of Seven Pines, must take rank as the initiative of similar bold 
operations that followed rapidly on both sides. " Boots and saddles," 
was sounded, says Colonel W. T. Robins,* amid the delight of the men 
and officers. Nominally, the command started for Northern Virginia, 
but in reality, they were to flank the right wing of the Federal army 
near Ashland, and moving around its rear, cross the Chickahominy at 
near Sycamore Ford, in New Kent County, march to the James River, 
and retui"nto Lee's army, near Deep Bottom, Henrico County — ground 
which was afterwards marked by the dashing raids of Kilpatrick, and 
later by the more seriously destructive ones of Sheridan. 

Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Century Company, Vol. II., pp. 271--2. 



3IO THE LIFE OF 

This expedition displayed Stuart's capacity for surprise in an 
admirable manner. Fires were not allowed at bivouacs ; the bugles 
were unused ; the marches were begun early and made swiftly. 
Hanover Court House saw the first Union troopers — a small detach- 
ment which left incontinently. A fight occurred at Hawes' shop, where 
subsequently Custer's command had a brilliant rencontre and won a 
victory. The Union squadron was swiftly repulsed by a charge of 
Colonel W. H. F. Lee's regiment. They fell back swiftly on their 
main body, commanded by Brigadier-General Philip St. George Cooke j 
the father-in-law of Stuart, and himself a loyal Virginian. The fight 
was a sharp one, the pursuit was hot, and the conflict was again renewed 
at Old Church, where the Nationals had encamped. It all resulted in 
a Confederate victory. Stuart pushed on. McClellan's army was 
between him and Richmond. The Union cavalry was believed to be 
in Stuart's rear. Very little fighting occurred. An attempt was made 
at the York River railroad (in McClellan's possession), near Funstall's 
Station, to capture a train of troops. The engineer put on steam and 
broke through the obstructions, while the Confederates fired into the cars, 
wounding and killing a number of our men. In general, the raid was 
a huge picnic, during which Stuart's troopers secured many horses, 
arms, especially revolvers, raided several sutler stores, and got an unusual 
number, for them, of good things to eat. In their whole excursion they 
lost one man killed, several wounded, and no prisoners. General Stuart 
reported the capture of 165 prisoners, 260 horses and mules, and a 
quantity of small arms. It reads small by the side of the larger opera- 
tions that marked Sheridan's movements in the last year of the war, 
but it was a fortunate movement on the Confederates' part, and inspired 
their troopers with greater dash and self-reliance. In the Central 
South, however, men like Wheeler, Cheatham, Chalmers, Forrest, 
and Morgan, had already taught the Union commanders the power 
of the mounted soldier. No such cavalry forces had been raised in 
Virginia as, under Forrest and Wheeler, were then and later assailing 
Halleck's lines of operations, or the movements of Buell and Rosecrans. 
It was in the Central South and west of the Mississippi that the 
Confederates made their most extensive and important use of cavalry. 
Neither Stuart nor Wade Hampton ever commanded over ten thousand 
cavalrymen. Generals Forrest and Wheeler during several periods of 
their active campaigning, had larger forces. Morgan and Duke were as 
much partisan leaders as Moseby, yet the latter seldom had over twenty 
men with him, and probably never commanded over one hundred 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



3^1 




troopers in any one 
engagement or 
raid. The topo- 
graphical features 
of the different 
fields made neces- 
sary the differences 
of the commands. 
General Stuart 
showed confidence 
in the material he 
handled by discard- 
ing, ex-regular 
though he was, the 
traditions of the 
United States A 
my, which he 1 1 
that it took thi 
years of service t 
make an effecti 
cavalryman out „. 
a raw recruit. The 
Union cavalry in 
the Peninsula Cam- 
paign, from and '^ famous confederate cavalry officer, since the war a 

, , , united states senator from south CAROLINA. 

around whom he 

seemed to so easily run, as well as fight, consisted of fourteen regiments 
and two independent squadrons. Major-General George A. Stone- 
man, recently governor of California, was in command, with Briga- 
dier-General Cooke in command of the reserve. Colonels Emory and 
Grier (" old Billy," of the regulars, as he was called) were among the 
efficient, with Averill, Toi'bett, and others, moulders and commanders 
of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. Custer was a staff' officer 
with McClellan. Kilpatrick was then a major. Buford was on Stone- 
man's staff; and the names of our other gallant heroes were, like the 
better known Confederate cavalrymen, just beginning to be " sounded 
in the ear of fame." Averill had preceded Stuart's exploit of riding 
round the peninsula army by a raid, on a smaller scale, from Manassas 
to Fredericksbvu^g. It was the peninsula fighting that made the Union 
cavalry eflective, just as it also inspired that of the Army of Virginia. 



GEN. WADE HAMPTON, 



^12 THE LIFE OF 

" Jeb" Stuart, judging by the anecelotos toKl ot" hlui, was the un- 
questioneil idol of the Vh-ginian cavahy. The ex-partisan leader, 
Alosebv, in the charming little book of Refnif/isccnces^* thus sketches 
Stuart, with whom he tirst enlisted in the First Virginia Cavalry, as 
follows : 

"' He was just twentv-eight years of age — one year older than my- 
self — strongly built, with blue eves, ruddy complexion, and reddish 
beard. He wore a blouse and foraging cap w ith a linen cover, called 
a havelock, as a protectitMi against the siui. His personal appearance 
indicated the distinguishing traits of his cliaracter — dash, great 
strength of will, and indomitable energy. Stuait soon showed that he 
possessed all the qualities of a great leader of cavalry — a sound judg- 
ment, a quick intelligence to penetrate the designs of an enemy, 
mingled with the brilliant courage of a Rupert. His good humor, 
readiness, and courtesy seem to have been unfailing qualities. It is 
told that during tlie week of battles in front of Washington, following 
the second Hull Run, that General Bayard went forward, under a 
flag of truce, to meet and confer with his old comrade in arms. Less 
than two years previously ' Jeb ' was first lieutenant and Bayard 
second lieutenant in the same company ; now ' Jeb ' was a major-gen- 
eral on the wrong side, and Bayard a brigadier on the right one. 
During the interview a wounded soldier lying near was groaning and 
asking tor water. 

" " Here, "Jeb," ' said Bayard — okl-time recollections making him 
familiar — as he tossed his bridle to a Confederate officer, ' hold my 
horse a minute while I fetch that poor fellow some water.* 'Jeb' 
held the bridle. Bavard went to a stream and brought the wounded 
man some ^vater. As Bavard moimted his horse, ' Jeb ' remarked 
that he had not for some time ^ played orderly to a Union general.' 
Poor Bavard went gallantlv to his grave some time before his friend did, 
but Stuart also fell at Yellow Tavern. Another little episode is told 
pending the Cedar Riui field, in 1S62. An eye-witness says : ' On a 
fallen gum tree — the slain stretched around them — sat the officers of 
the parlev ; upon one side the Confederate ca\alry leaders, Stuart and 
General Early ; upon the other Generals Hartsutl'and Roberts. Stuart 
was lythe, gray-eyed, and tall, of an intense countenance, nervous, im- 
pulsive manner, and clad in gray, with a soft black hat. He wore, 
curiously enough, United States buttons, and his sword which he 



♦Moseby's War Reminisreiicex, pp ii-ijs. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 31^ 

exliibitcd, was made in Philadelphia. Pearly was a quiet, severe North \ 
Carolinian, who wore a home-spun civil suit, with a hrij^adier's star on 
his shoulder bar. General Ilartsuff was burly and ^ood-natured ; 
Roberts silent and saj^e, with white beard and distnistlul eye. The 
former had been a classmate of the cavalryman, and he said, ' Stuart, 
olfl boy, how d'ye do.'" ' God ])less my soul, Ilartsuff,' said the other, 
' it warms n^y heart to see you,' and they took a turn ann-in-arm." 

Stuart's earlier rival in the affections of the Virginia troojjers was 
the farmer-soldier of Loudoun County, C<jlonel 1'urner Ashby, who at 
his own cost recruited an independent command at the very outset of 
the Civil War. There was a good deal of feeling displayed, when, the 
organization of cavalry commencing in earnest, Captain J. E. B. 
vStuart, formerly of the old regular army, was made colonel over the 
head, as it were, of Turner Ashby, who was then, as General Imboden 
has since written, " the idol of all the troopers in the field, as well he 
mit^lit lie, for a more brave and chivalrous officer never rode at the 
head of well-mounted troopers." He was, however, soon placed in 
command of a regiment of his own people, and maintained his repu- 
tation for bravery and dash on the field until he fell in one of the 
cavalry skirmishes that preceded the battle of Winchester in 1864. 

General Jackson, a prominent ex-C<jnfederate officer, says that: 
"As a partisan officer I never knew his superior ; his daring was 
prov^erbial ; his powers of endurance almost incredible ; his tone of 
character heroic, and his sagacity almcjst intuitive in divining the pur- 
j^ose and movements of the enemy." 

Strong praise, but characteristic of the Southern judgment which 
made of every fighter an Hector, and of every leader an Achilles. 
Another of the competent, but still over-rated men of "brawn and 
pluck" who served their cause, is the ex-cavalry commander, Thomas 
L. Rosser, who failed to thrash Custer as he promised, and almost pur- 
sued Sheridan even to the grave. There is no doubt, however, that 
Rosser was a brave and dashing cavalry leader, even if a bit of a 
braggart. There is a little story told in Blue and Gray^ which illus- 
trates him, and will bear repeating. During the last campaign, Rosser, 
in a fight with a portion of Crook's cavalry division sent to destroy the 
high bridge near P'armville, captured some eight hundred prison- 
ers. The narrator of the incident says, hearing a voice asking for 
General Longstreet, that lie turned in his saddle to find General Rosser 
near by, mounted on a superb black horse. Inquiring the news, he 
replied : " Oh ! we have captured those people who were going to 



314 THE LIFE OF 

destroy the bridge — took them all in; but Jim Bearing is mortally 
wounded. He had a hand-to-hand fight with the commanding officer 
of the Federals, General Read, and cut him down from his horse, 
killing him ; but Read's orderly shot Dearing through the body, and 
then he, too, was shot. It was a gallant fight. This is Read's horse, 
■A\\<\this his sabre. Both beauties, aren't they.'* But I must see Long- 
street." Rosser was wounded in the arm, but made light of his 
" scratch." Longstreet hunted up, Rosser reported. There was evi- 
dently more gratification at the captures he made, than pain or surprise 
at the terrible position in which the army he belonged to was placed. 

It is not unrefreshing to read over the old rosters, — so many names 
and memories are brought to light again. In the Army of Virginia 
cavalry there are embalmed some names that have grown somewhat 
since those days. At a glance the eye recalls Hampton and Butler, 
both in the United States Senate ; Fitzhugh Lee, Governor of Vir- 
ginia ; Percy M. B. Young, of Georgia ; ex-Congressman Magruder, 
relative of the dashing and emblazoned artillerist, who surrendered in 
Texas as major-general ; Wickham, ex-Senator from Virginia ; Thomas 
F. Goode, brother of the Congressman; Brigadier-General W. E. 
Jones, formerly of the regular army ; Imboden, dashing and able, 
whose virile pen is still giving the country some valuable papers on the 
Civil War. But one of the most remarkable of Confederate cavalrymen 
is never named in these rosters. Yet he held, having won it fairly, 
the commission of colonel. John L. Moseby, the partisan leader of 
Northern Virginia, deserves a place in any reference to the doings and 
deeds of the Confederate troopers. He deserves it because he is a man 
of character enough to win the respect of his foe, and since the war 
closed to have induced General Grant to write of him as follows, after 
having appointed him consul to Hong Kong : " Since the close of the 
war I have come to know Moseby personally, and somewhat intimately. 
He is a different man entirely from what I supposed. He is slender, 
not tall, wiry, and looks as if he could endure any amount of physical 
exercise. He is able, and thoroughly honest and truthful. There were 
probably but few men in the South who could have commanded suc- 
cessfully a separate detachment in the rear of an opposing army, and 
so near the borders of hostilities, as long as he did without losing his 
entire command." * 

Perhaps nothing will illustrate Moseby's intelligence as a soldier and 

* Memoirs, Vol. II., p. 142. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 31^ 

the amount that he accomplished, better than his own statement of the 
theory upon which he acted as a partisan leader, and the recognition 
of his services in that capacity which he received from his superiors. 
Of the first, Colonel Moseby says that he was never a spy, and that his 
warfare was always such as the laws of war allow. He epitomizes 
his theory of action as follows : "As a line is only as strong as its weak- 
est point, it was necessary for it to be stronger than I was at every 
point in order to resist my attacks. . . . To destroy supply trains, 
to break up the means of conveying intelligence, and thus isolating an 
army from its base, as well as its different corps fi'om each other, to 
confuse plans by capturing dispatches, are the objects of partisan war- 
fare. . . . The military value of a partisan's work is not measured 
by the amount of property destroyed, or the number of men killed or 
captured, but by the number he keeps watching. Every soldier with- 
drawn from the front to guard the rear of an army is so much taken 
from its fighting strength." What he accomplished may be seen in 
part by the following, which is a copy of General Lee's indorsement on 
Lieutenant-Colonel Moseby's report of his operations from the ist of 
March to the nth of September, 1864: 

HEADqUARTERS, ArMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA, 

September 19th, 1864. 
Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant and Inspector-General for 
the information of the department. Attention is invited to the activity 
and skill of Colonel Moseby, and the intelligence and courage of the 
officers and men of his command, as displayed in this report. 

With the loss of little more than twenty men, he has killed, 
wounded, and captured during the period embraced in this report about 
twelve hundred of the enemy, and taken more than sixteen hundred 
horses and mules, 230 beef cattle, and eighty-five wagons and ambu- 
lances, without counting many smaller operations. The services ren- 
dered by Colonel Moseby and his command in watching and reporting 
the enemy's movements have also been of great value. His operations 
have been highly creditable to himself and his command. 

(Signed) R. E. Lee, General. 

Official, 

John Blair Hoge, Major a7id Assistant Adjutant-General. 

Discipline was not as strict in the Confederate as in the Union army, 
at least with the cavalry. Privates and officers were more familiar — 
a necessary result of their methods of recruiting for that service. The 
methods of cooking and of camp fare were also dissimilar to our boys'. 
They took " pot luck" more frequently, and did not receive the same 
abundance or quality in rations. One bane of a soldier's life was camp 



3i6 GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 

guard. They never minded doing sentinel duty on the out-posts. The 
picket line was a place of horror, of danger, and responsibility, yet 
there was something inspiring and soldier-like in guarding the front. 
But camp guard, compelling them to stand and watch over a pile of 
corn, or a lot of half stai'ved army mules, or some equally uninteresting 
object — it was then that the iron entered the soul, and many were the 
devices practiced by " old soldiers" to be relieved of this duty. 

Here let us pause. The years have passed, summer and winter. 
Each season in its appointed time has held in its embrace the north 
land and the south land alike. The shell-shattered tree, the cannon- 
rifted earth, the torn bastions, the fields ploughed by " war's dread 
enginery" have all changed their rude, sad features. The tender 
touch of nature has shrouded in moss, creeper, and verdure, the riven 
tree. The broken earth has been brought by industry into smiling 
places of plenty. The vi^ild flowers bloom where the deadly missiles 
hurtled fast and furious. Dear nature has kissed alike the graves of 
Union and Confederate, and her robes of verdure or of snow are the 
proofs of loving impartiality. But memories live. The "boys" came 
home again, North and South — but alas ! not all of them. As Francis 
A. Durivage so simply and pathetically sings : 

" There hangs a sabre, and there a rein, 
With rusty buckle and green curb chain ; 
A pair of spurs on the old gray wall, 
And a moldy saddle, — well, that is all. 

" Come out to the stable ; it is not far, 
The moss-grown door is hanging ajar ; 
Look within ! There's an empty stall, 
Where once stood a charger, — and that is all. 

" The good black steed came riderless home, 
Flecked with the blood-drops, as well as foam. 
Do you see that mound, where the dead leaves fall.'' 
The good black horse pined to death — that's all. 

" All .? O God ! it is all I can speak. 
Question me not, — I am old and weak. 
His saddle and sabre hang on the wall, 
And his hor.-ie pined to death — I have told you all." 



Chapter XXV. 



A WARNING ON THE RIO GRANDE. 

SHERIDAN IS SENT TO TEXAS GRANT's LOVE FOR "LITTLE PHIL " — AFTER 

THE GRAND REVIEW LOGAN, REYNOLDS, BLUNT, POPE, AND WEITZEL. 

ORGANIZING WHAT WAS DESIGNED FOR MEXICO ESCABEDO AND COR- 

TINAS ON THE LOWER GRANDE HOW THE IMPERIALIST MEJIA FELT 

THEIR POWER ABANDONED UNITED STATES MATERIAL OBTAINED BY 

MEXICO — JAUREZ AT PASO DEL NORTE — THE OLD CHURCH — OUR CALI- 
FORNIA CAVALRYMEN HOW THE MEXICAN REPUBLICANS WERE AIDED BY 

THE UNION DIFFICULT TASK TO MAINTAIN ORDER IN TEXAS. 

The suiTender of Lee witli the chief army of the Confederacy at 
Appomattox, the capture of Richmond also, and the flight of the Con- 
federate President and of his Cabinet, promised, but did not quite 
insure, that peace for which the leaders of the Union armies had been so 
long laboring. Sherman was well into North Carolina when Grant 
told the men of Lee's army to take their horses and go home to plough, 
accepting unhesitatingly the paroles of men who had been under arms 
four years for the purpose of dissevering our National Union, that 
thereafter they would become and remain faithful and peaceful citizens 
of the land they had sought to disrupture with such courage and vigor 
as compel one to mourn that the splendid qualities they so lavishly 
displayed had not been expended in a better cause than that of making 
"African slavery" the "corner-stone" of a confederacy, which could 
not exist except upon the ruins of our Federal Union. The military 
situation, however, concerns the victorious commanders more than the 
political consequences that directly follow their victories. Still, Grant 
could not be quite regardless of these. 

The assassination of Mr. Lincoln, so soon after Appomattox, ter- 
ribly complicated affairs by its rapid creation of a public opinion 
bitterly hostile to all elements in the fallen Confederacy. We now see 
how little the Southern people had to do with the atrocious acts of 
Wilkes Booth and his small band of conspirators ; but at that date we 
knew it not. Then came the Sherman-Johnston compact, under the 



3i8 THE LIFE OF 

pretense of an armistice. With all his genius, Sherman lacked the 
marvelous equipoise which made Grant so supremely sagacious in war, 
and in all its operations and consequences. He could not and did not 
resist the trap into which he was led at Raleigh, under the hope of 
solving seriously the problems of permanent peace, found in the rela- 
tions of the states to each other. It needed Grant's faith in his great 
lieutenant and the public confidence in himself to arrange the North 
Carolina affair, without leaving anything but some sharp personal feel- 
ing behind it. 

But there was serious work for Sheridan to do. As Adam Badeau 
shows, there was on Grant's part a genuine love for, as well as confi- 
dence felt in Sheridan by his commanding officer and those about 
him. Badeau says : 

"Without Sheridan, Grant's triumph would not have been so com- 
plete ; for it was Sheridan, who by rapid marches and incessant blows 
secured the enveloping, and thus the surrender of Lee. After this 
Grant fairly loved Shei'idan. The affection was founded on admiration ; 
the intimacy grew out of achievement. While Grant was sick and 
dying, Sheridan wi^ote : ' It is unnecessary for me to use words to 
express my attachment to General Grant and his family. I have not 
gone to see him, as I could only bring additional distress to them, and 
I want to remember him as I knew him in good health.' 

"At the close of the war, on the very day of the grand review at 
Washington, Grant dispatched Sheridan with secret orders to the Rio 
Grande to watch the frontier. He was told to be ready for any emer- 
gency. He performed his part, as usual, well, and when the French 
were withdrawn Grant placed him in command at New Orleans." 

The interest thus manifested by General Grant in the Republic of 
Mexico, and the condition of affairs on the Rio Grande are forcibly 
illustrated in the following letter, written a little later by the conqueror 
of Lee. Grant had a great dislike to William H. Seward, and in this 
letter indirectly exhibits this feeling. The letter reads : 

Washington, June 19th, 1S65. 
His Excellency A. Johnson, 

President of the United States. 

The great interest which I feel in securing an honorable and per- 
manent peace whilst we still have in service a force sufficient to insure 
it, induces me to lay my views before you in an official form. 

In the first place, I regard the act of attempting to establish a mon- 
archical government on this continent in Mexico by foreign bayonets. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 319 

as an act of hostility against the government of the United States. If 
allowed to go on until such a government is established I see nothing 
before us but a long, expensive, and bloody war ; one in which the 
enemies of this country wmII be joined by tens of thousands of disciplined 
soldiers, embittered against their government by the experiences of the 
last four years. 

As a justification for open resistance to the establishment of Maxi- 
milian's government in Mexico, I would give the following reasons : 

First — The act of attempting to establish a monarchy on this con- 
tinent was an act of known hostility to the government of the United 
States ; was protested against at the time, and would not have been 
undei'taken but for the great war which was raging, and which it was 
supposed by all the great powers of Europe, except, possibly, Russia, 
would result in the dismemberment of the country, and the overthrow 
of republican institutions. 

Second — Every act of the empire of Maximilian has been hostile to 
the government of the United States. Matamoras and the whole Rio 
Grande under his control, has been an open port to those in rebellion 
against this government. It is notorious that every article held by the 
rebels for export was permitted to cross the Rio Grande, and from 
there go unmolested to all parts of the world ; and they received in re- 
turn, all articles, arms, munitions of war, etc.. they desired. Rebels in 
arms have been allowed to take refuge on Mexican soil, protected by 
French bayonets. French soldiers have fired on our men from the 
south side of the river in aid of the rebellion. Officers acting under 
the authority of the would-be empire, have received arms, munitions, 
and other public property from the rebels after the same has become 
the property of the United States. It is now reported, and I think 
there is no, doubt of the truth of the report, that large, organized, and 
armed bodies of rebels have gone to Mexico to join the Imperialists. 

It is further reported, and too we will find the report confirmed, 
that a contract or agreement has been entered into with Duke Gwin, a 
traitor to his country, to invite into Mexico armed immigrants for the 
purpose of wrenching from the rightful government of that country 
states never controlled by the Imperialists. It will not do to remain 
quiet and theorize that by showing a strict neutrality all foreign force 
will be compelled to leave Mexican soil. Rebel immigrants will go to 
Mexico with arms in their hands. They will not be a burden upon 
the states, but, on the contrary, will become producers, always ready, 
when emergency arises, to take up their arms in defence of the cause 
they espouse. 

That their leaders will espouse the cause of the empire purely 
out of hostility to this government, I feel there is no doubt. There 
is a hope that the rank and file may take the opposite side if any 
influence is allowed to work upon their reason, but if a neutrality 
is to be observed which allows armed rebels to go to Mexico, and 
which keeps out all other immigrants, and which also denies to the 
Liberals of Mexico belligerent rights — the right to buy arms and 



po THE LIFE OF 

munition in foreign markets and to transport them through friendly 
territory to their homes, I see no chance for such influence to be 
brought to bear. 

What I would propose would be a solemn protest against the estab- 
lishment of a monarchical government in Mexico by the aid of foreign 
bayonets. If the French have a just claim against Mexico, I would 
regard them as having triumphed, and would guarantee them suitable 
award for their grievance. Mexico would, no doubt, admit their 
claim if it did not affect their territory or right as a free people. The 
United States could take such pledges as would secure her against loss. 
How all this could be done without bringing on an armed conflict, 
others who have studied such matters could tell better than I. 

If this course cannot be agreed upon, then I would recognize equal 
belligerent rights to both parties. I would interpose no obstacle to the 
passage into Mexico of emigrants to that country. I would allow 
either party to buy arms, or anything else we have to sell, and inter- 
pose no obstacle to their transit. 

These views have been hastily drawn up, and contain but little of 
what might be said on the subject treated of. If, however, they serve 
to bring the matter under discussion, they will have accomplished all 
that is desired. 

U. S. Grant, Lieute?iaiit- General. 

West of the Appalachian ranges there still remained, even at the 
time of the grand review at Washington, some considerable Confed- 
erate forces in the field. They were not moving actively, it was true, 
but sufficient remained for a possible nucleus of any projected irreg- 
ular operations. Certainly, west of the Mississippi, in Northern Louis- 
iana, Southern Arkansas, and Indian Territory, and in the whole of 
Texas, Kirby Smith, Dick Taylor, and Sterling Price remained in 
command of a considerable army. The army under the latter had, 
it was true, been thoroughly defeated and disorganized the preceding 
fall by ovu" "Army of the Border," under Generals S. R. Curtis 
and James G. Blunt, commanding the troops of Kansas and Missouri. 
But Texas was rich in supplies. Her people had grown rich from the 
necessities of the Confederacy- It was a serious problem for the Fed- 
eral authorities to consider, and Sheridan was the one commander to 
be intrusted with a task that also involved the possibility of a foreign 
war. To subdue Kii'by Smith and destroy the last remnants of Con- 
federate resistance was an easy job to set before the young soldier 
who had harried the Shenandoah Valley, fought the battle of Five 
Forks, and at Appomattox secured all chances of Lee's retreat in 
his vice-like grip. But there was a deliberate intention, not publicly 
expressed at the time, but felt by the loyal nation, to see to it that the 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



3^» 



Republic of Mexico was again established, and that the invaders and 
usurpers thereof should be compelled to withdraw. Sheridan was sent 
to the performance of this ditiicult task. The selection of his lieuten- 
ants was left to his judgment. 

A few days after the occupation of Richmond, which occurred 
before Appomattox, Major-General Godfrey Weitzel, of the Army of 
the James, by whom the Confederate capital was taken, was ordered 
to Washington. On arrival, and upon reporting to the War Depart- 
ment, he was informed by Secretary Stanton of the intended movement 
to the Rio Grande and of its probable character. With this informa- 
tion he was offered the second command, under General Sheridan as 
department commander. Troops to the number of c;3,ooo were 
already detailed for the new field operations, and General Weitzel was 
expected to proceed at once to Brownsville, Texas. Weitzel and his 
staff" were on the ground before the grand review was over at the 
National Capital. 

Steps were quickly taken in preparation of anv work that might 
have to be done. General John A. Logan with his famous Foiu'teenth 
Army Corps — the men who bore tlxrough so many campaigns and 
battles, the significant badge of a cartridge-box and forty rounds — 
was sent from Washington to Little Rock, Arkansas. The forces in 
the Department of Louisiana were sent forward towards Shreveport. 
Major-General J. J. Reynolds, commanding the Department of Arkan- 




LAS CRUCES, VALLEY OF MESILA, NEW MEXICO. 

HEADQUARTERS OF THE CALIFORNIA BRIGADE. 



21 



^12 THE LIFE OF 

sas and the Seventh Army Corps, was at Little Rock. Major-Gen- 
eral James G. Blunt, of Kansas, had been ordered from Fort Leaven- 
worth to Fort Gibson, on the Arkansas and within the Cherokee 
country, where he was to activel}" equip the Indians in the Union ser- 
vice (three regiments), several regiments of colored infantry also, with 
a sufficient force of volunteer cavalry to make a mounted column of 
at least ten thousand men. This force was to enter Northern Texas 
and push towards the Rio Grande, in the neighborhood of El Paso, or, 
as it v\^as then known, the frontier village of Franklin. Major-General 
John A. Pope, who, after the second battle of Bull Run, was placed 
in command of the Department of the Northwest, had been relieved 
by Majoi--General S. R. Curtis and ordered to the command of the 
military division of the jSIissouri, with headquarters at St. Louis. 

General Sheridan went first to New Orleans, and soon after to 
Brownsville, at the mouth of the Rio Grande, where General Weitzel's 
headquarters were already established. The Gulf coast was in our 
possession. Heavy reinforcements were also sent there. Matamoras 
on the opposite side of the river was the headquarters of the Confede- 
rate spies, blockade runners, and others of similar character. An im- 
mense quantity of military stores and other goods, " contraband of 
war," had been received through this place for the Confederacy. A 
strong garrison was maintained by the Austrian-French invaders and 
their Mexican associates. A considerable number of prominent Con- 
federates was daily passing over the Rio Grande border. Altogether, 
and to all appearances, at the outset it was a lively field of operations 
on which Sheridan now made his advent. 

It was feared at first by the military authorities that detached bodies 
of Confederate soldiery might succeed in crossing the Mississippi in 
numbers sufficient to prolong the struggle. It was anticipated as a 
necessar}' consequence of this, that we should defeat and drive them 
westward upon Mexico, and in that way, possibl}^, bring on the hoped- 
for collision with Maximilian and his ally. Marshal Bazaine. But it 
was decided that the French must leave Mexico. The surrender of 
Kirby Smith on the eighteenth day of May to General Pope at Shreve- 
port, Louisiana, put an end to the prospect of any further Confederate 
campaigning. That surrender was the last act of war in the great four- 
years struggle. The last brush between troops of the two armies 
occurred, however, a few days later, when a Texas infantry colonel, 
under the pretense that he had not known of the surrender, brought on 
a short, sharp fight with a body of colored soldiers. This little ebul- 
lition was of no importance. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 323 

Sheridan remained in command nntil, in fact, tlie invaders had left 
Mexico, Maximilian had been shot at Qiieretaro, and Jaurez, the great 
Indian president and liberator, was once more established in the city of 
Mexico. The French Emperor, as our State Department reports show 
in the correspondence they contain, fully understood w^hat was meant 
by the ordering of Sheridan to the Rio Grande and the rapid concen- 
tration in the Southwest of so large a force. Mr. Seward succeeded in 
making our determination quite plain to the crafty schemer of the 
Tuileries. The withdrawal of Bazaine by Louis Napoleon's order, was 
the signal for the downfall of his puppet — the Austrian archduke who 
played emperor for about four years. Sheridan was near the Rio 
Grande until the end. He had a great deal of interesting work to 
attend to, and some repressive measures to rigidly enforce, amid a rest- 
less and still hostile population. It is unnecessary to say that his work 
was well done. 

The story of Mexico and our relations to the struggling republic, is 
one of great interest. It has never been told. Probably it never will 
be, for diplomats are statecraft detectives who believe in secrecy ; and 
so many who knew since these events have "crossed the river." Sew- 
ard, Jaurez, Grant, Louis Napoleon, Maximilian, Slidell, Gwin, and 
Mason, might have given, each in his place, the whole story. Even 
now Romero, the astute, yet honest Mexican representative, could out- 
line the whole matter. It is probable, however, that, like the presence 
of a Russian fleet on the Pacific coast during our Civil War period, and 
the subsequent purchase of Alaska from Russia, the truth about the 
relations between the United States and Mexico during the same period 
will only be hinted at and never fully explained. What is known,, 
however, is worthy of recital, especially as it remained an instrument 
in Sheridan's hands while on observation upon the Rio Grande. 

The manner in which the Mexican Republic was aided in many 
directions, as well as the internal questions involved in the maintenance 
of order within our own borders for the two years following 'the 
advent of Generals Sheridan and Weitzel, would form, if it could be 
fully and fairly told, one of the most interesting chapters of the war and 
reconstruction periods. At Brownsville the Union commander had 
his hands full in both directions. General Mejia, the leading Mexican 
commander in the service of Maximilian, had his headquarters at 
Matamoras. The Republican General Escabedo was operating against 
the Imperialists in the lower part of what is now known as the Mexi- 
can Free Zone. Cortinas, the notorious partisan leader, was fighting 



324 GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 

tor the Republic, and made himself a continued thorn in the side of 
Mejia and the Matamoras Imperialists. The state of feeling at that 
place towards the Federal troops and their cause may be seen in an 
incident that occurred but a few evenings before General Weitzel 
arrived at Brownsville. A mock funeral was held of Abraham Lincoln, 
the news of whose assassination had just arrived. It was done in 
derision. Tapers were lighted, masses parodied and intoned, and at the 
close a bottle of wine was opened and flung over the mask that was sup- 
posed to i"epresent the dead American President. 

The Imperialist Mejia sought eagerly, however, to gain the good 
graces of the Union commander. But Weitzel, under orders, acted 
with a cold reserve that quickly made the renegade Mexican and his 
allies understand the nature of the feeling with which he and they 
were regarded on this side of Rio Grande Bravo del Noi'te. As quickly, 
too, did the Republicans learn the sentiment and expectations held on 
our side. The stafl^ officers and others were tacitly encouraged in 
making friends with the Mexicans. Cortinas and Escabedo were early 
and frequently in communication with our headquarters. A staff' 
officer of General Weitzel, now a practicing physician in Providence, 
Dr. Graves, has given some ifiteresting details of the condition of the 
Mexican camps and troops. At the first visit made to General Corti- 
nas' camp (on leave, and privately as a guest, and not as an American 
officer) it was found that one thousand men were present. No two 
arms were of the same pattern, and in the whole command there were 
but eight hundred cartridges, of which no half dozen were of the same 
number or pattern. Escabedo's camp was in but a little better condition. 
Neither command possessed a quartermaster or commissary depart- 
ment ; and they were both entirely without surgeons, medical stores, 
drugs, or hospital service of any kind. It is true that they possessed 
the Indian-Mexicans' wonderful knowledge of simples and herbs, of 
that remarkable pharmacopia of nature which the woods, shrubs, and 
plants of Mexico offer in abundance to those who know their secrets. 

But it soon became evident to the Imperialists that the Republicans 
were rapidly becoming better equipped, especially in arms and ord- 
nance stores. They could readily guess the source of supply, but did 
not dare make their knowledge a cause of complaint. 

About that time it is probable that the records of the War Depart- 
ment will show an extraordinary shij^ment of arms and munitions of 
war, of quartermastei-'s supplies, of artillery and equipments, and of 
commissariat and medical stores, to the Gulf of Mexico and Browns- 




THE PLAZA AND CHURCH OF PASO DEL NORTE, CHIHUAHUA, 

MEXICO. 



THE OLD CHURCH HELD AS A FORTRESS BY THE MEXICAN REPUBLICANS. 



y.b 



THE LIFE OF 



ville. Enough material of war was forwarded to the Southwest to 
well equip and furnish a moderate sized army, in addition to what was 
actually needed for the Union troops stationed in Sheridan's department. 

Another fact that would be found is the extraordinary amount of 
such material that was condemned and ordered to be abandoned. And 
it was abandoned, but always in very lonely parts of the Rio Grande 
Valley, long distances above Brownsville, contiguous to and upon the 
river bank. vSomehow these w^ell-guarded trains of condemned and 
abandoned army stores and munitions w^ere always left at night-fall 
without escort. Is it any wonder, then, that Cortinas or some other of 
the Republican leaders always contrived to cross the Rio Grande in 
their bullock-hide boats and before morning to remove to their own side 
these valuable munitions which some lucky fate had left at their dis- 
posal.? There was, also, another act in this interesting drama which 
will bear telling. 

El Paso, now a well-known centre of railroad and commercial 
activity, in 1865 was a frontier village, with more swagger, crime, 
treason, and murder to the square foot, according to inhabitants, than 
any other place upon the North American Continent. It had been 
famous'before as the starting point of military operations at the time 
of the first Mexican War. Doniphan's Missouri command, after its 
march across the plains and into New Mexico, was sent by General Phil 
Kearney to the village of Franklin (El Paso) to hold it as an important 
observation point upon the extreme northeast frontier of Chihuahua. 
When the slave-holders' rebellion had begun and ended, El Paso still 
remained in Confederate hands. It was soon after occupied by our 
California volunteers. A post of the United States now stands a couple 
of miles above the city, ensconced on a small plateau, just overlooking 
the narrow Rio Grande Valley, and embraced almost roughly by the 
mountain ranges crowding it in on either side. It is a wild, rough 
region, weird even to ugliness, with its gray grass, its brown mountain 
and mesa sides — often so grotesque in their eroded forms ; its stunted 
trees and hideous cacti — the very hobgoblin of the vegetable world. 
Its human occupants are less lovely, as a rule, than even its natural 
aspects. But it is beautiful, also, beyond the poet's dream to describe, or 
the painter's genius and skill to depict. A marvelous atmosphere 
clothes it in wondrous radiance. Even when, at mid-day, the earth lies 
bald and naked beneath its translucent blue, the wondrous clearness of 
the arching sky lends enchantment to the vast outlook. But it is at 
night and morning — at dawn and sundown — that the glory of the wild 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. ^27 

region becomes so marvelous that one's pen may well falter in an 
attempt to describe it. The rainbow's colors are but as idle shadows 
beside those that the atmosphere paints along the Rio Grande to wel- 
come the sunrise or bid the moon and stars to their constant charming. 
The chasms, rough and jagged on mountain sides, are draped in the 
deepest, richest purple. The saw-toothed crests are all golden in the 
river of sunshine. The red, rugged mesa becomes a lake of beauteous 
hues. Far and near, all outlines grow tender and soft. In the morning 
the scene is one of radiant glory. In the evening it becomes a land- 
scape of mystical softness and bewildering enchantment, so lovely are 
the shadows, and so wonderful the changes wrought by the magical 
touch of the arid atmosphere. 

Across the shallow boundary river lies the Mexican village of Paso 
Del Norte, with its dirty, straggling adobe dwellings, its uncouth plaza, 
and ugly if historical church building. For a thousand years, it is proba- 
ble, has this been the site of human dwellings and activity. It is the ex- 
treme northeasterly point of Mexican territory. Its inhabitants (the 
Pueblo extends for several miles down the river) are nearly all of the 
indigenous Indian stock of Northern Mexico. They are the most patri- 
otic of Mexicans, and the story of the republic almost begins in this 
frontier village ; nay, it almost ended there, just before the period of vSher- 
idan's appearance in the Southwest. It was in the village of Paso Del 
Norte that the adherents of the patriot-priest, Hidalgo, made their last 
stand against their Spanish oppressors, while the liberator was being 
executed at the city of Chihuahua. It was here, too, that Jaurez and 
his representatives maintained for nearly two years one of their last ter- 
ritorial footholds on the eastern side of the Sierra Madre. 

The Mexican people understood from the beginning the character 
of our Civil War. This is seen by the foct that early in 1862 — it was 
in May — the Mexican Congress passed in secret session, and without 
opposition, a joint resolution permitting the authorities of the United 
States to land troops from California at Guaymas, Sonora, on the Gulf 
of California, and march the same overland through Mexican territory, 
to the Rio Grande, Texas. What greater proof of sympathetic alli- 
ance could be given.? It is also understood that had it been necessary, 
the troops of the friendly republic would then have been used in our 
behalf. The permission of Mexico was never taken advantage of, owing 
to the fact that the Confederate General Sibley, who invaded New Mex- 
ico byway of the Rio Grande in the winter of 1861-2, was driven out 
completely by the Mexican volunteers of New Mexico and the First 



328 THE LIFE OF 

Colorado Volunteer Cavahy, under Colonel Slough. Sibley and Baylor 
both acted in their invasions of the Southwest in the interest of a Con- 
federate plan to conquer California. In this Sibley's intimates now 
assert that they were to have the assistance of Mexico, the northern 
states of which were to be sold to the Confederacy. So far as the 
Mexican Republicans w^ere concerned, the rebel leaders " reckoned 
without their host." There Avas a cessation of recruiting efforts for 
a while in California, but in the fall of 1S62, a brigade of cavalry, 
under Carlton and West, both West Pointers, started from Drum Bar- 
racks, Wilmington, Southern California, on a long overland march 
of nearly twelve hundred miles, passing across the Colorado desert, 
and entering Arizona at Yuma, marched up the Gila Valley, driving 
back the Apache marauders as they moved. They reoccupied Tucson, 
which had been held by Confederate guerrillas, and then they 
advanced over the Chiricuhua Mountains, meeting and defeating the 
Apaches, into New Mexico. In the earh^ spring of 1S63, they watered 
their horses in the Rio Grande, occupying the valley of Mesila, and 
establishing brigade headquarters at Las Cruces, forty miles above 
El Paso and the Mexican frontier. General Carlton was assigned 
to the command of the department, and West, promoted as brigadier- 
general, was placed in charge of the Californians. There was consid- 
erable active service against Apaches and Navajo, and an occasional 
Confederate guerrilla raid. But the great duty performed by the 
California troops was that of holding and protecting the Republic 
of Mexico, almost in extremis^ at the village of Paso Del Norte. The 
homely church structure of that place was turned into a rude fortress, 
which was armed with two Parrott guns and several hundred repeat- 
ing rifles. This armament found its way to Paso Del Norte across the 
frontier of the United States. It was placed there by General West's 
knowledge, and with the approval of Mr. Seward, as well as the War 
Depailment. For the next two years it was the California volunteers 
who always appeared on furlough at the Mexican village when the 
French troops occupying Chihuahua, came nearer to the northern fron- 
tier than was usual with them. 

The Californians were kept at Las Cruces to protect the Mexican 
Republicans at Paso Del Norte. And it was from this point that a 
cavalry column of Sheridan's would have entered Mexico, in 1S65, had 
it become necessary to overthrow the bastard empire by the employment 
of our forces. The brave Mexicans were able to work out their own 
freedom, but the United vStates stood ready to assist. The moral 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 



329 



force of that fact, felt at Paris, Vienna, and Qiieretaro, finally and visibly 
aided to crumble the usurpation to pieces. 

But the indirect and diplomatic serv^ice Sheridan's troops were ren- 
dering to Mexico comprised but a small portion of the complex and 
perplexing duties that devolved upon the department administration. 

When General Weitzel, his second in command, an-ived at Brow^ns- 
ville, in the latter part of April, 1S65, he found a hostile Confederate 
army, under Kirby Smith and Sterling Price, still in the field. That 
was the smaller factor in the problem. It speedily solved itself by the 
surrender at Shreveport. The real trouble was in Texas. Here Con- 
federates not only considered themselves as having never been " subju- 
gated " by the "Yankee hirelings" they affected to despise, but the 
state began at once to swarm with the more desperate and reckless of 
the minor Confederate leaders and soldiers, who, penniless and full of 
dangerous despair, had made their way into the Lone Star State from 
the Southern armies that were dissolving away east of the Mississippi 
River. A great many of them would have rejoiced, in impotent hos- 
tility, of the chance to swell the forces of Maximilian, provided they 
could have seen the opportunity of a collision with the Federal forces 
once more. Others there were — and their number was by no means 
insignificant — who would gladly have availed themselves of such an 
occasion to have entered the armies of the republic. 

But these men were there, by the thousands, desperate and penni- 
less. Grafted on the usual population of Texas, at that date exceed- 
ingly hostile, the problem of maintaining order was one of a peculiarly 
responsible character. General Weitzel set an early example of a 
needed sternness. The week before his arrival there, fourteen assas- 
sinations occurred on the streets of the town. In the week after his 
arrival General Weitzel tried and condemned a number of the assassins, 
executing four of them on one gallows. As a further illustration, an 
incident is recalled that occurred months later, when an ex-Confederate 
officer who had ranged himself on the side of Union law and order, was 
severely wounded in Northern Texas while defending the Union flag 
from a party of Texas sympathizers with Mr, Johnson. This officer 
had passed unscathed through the war. 

Sheridan's duties in Texas then covered a vast range. Thev were 
met as pi-omptly as they rose. Texas was gradually brought into line 
with law and order. As the years roll on, it will be seen that the 
acrid medicine of Sheridan's unyielding administration was doubtless 
the only potion that could at the time have been administered. 



Chapter XXVI. 



SHERIDAN IN RECONSTRUCTION DAYS. 

CONDITIONS PRECEDING AND ATTENDING RECONSTRUCTION COMMANDING IN 

THE GULF STATES NEW ORLEANS ANDREW JOHNSON's INTERFERENCE 

MECHANICS HALL MASSACRE — RECONSTRUCTION LEGISLATION — SHERIDAN's 

SERVICE UNDER IT SHOWS EXCELLENT EXECUTIVE ABILITY EJECTING A 

GOVERNOR HIS BANDIT DELIVERANCE HE GIVES THE PRESIDENT THE 

"LIE direct" — ABLE BUT THANKLESS SERVICE — APPOINTMENT OF 
GENERAL HANCOCK. 

Major-General Sheridan left Washington for the Rio Grande 
early in May, 1865. What he was sent there to do has already been 
suggested. He was placed in command of the Department of the Gulf, 
which in June following Grant extended to cover Louisiana and 
'Florida, as well as Texas, with headquarters at New Orleans. This 
was done because a strong hand and firm will was particularly required 
at that point. Indications were not wanting to Grant's sagacious 
observation of the growth of that wide divergence of opinion between 
President Andrew Johnson and the leaders of the party which had 
been in power throughout the Rebellion, and were therefore responsible 
for the legislation of the land, and mainly, also, for its administration. 
These wide, even fundamental divergencies of opinion and action 
between the President who constitutionally succeeded after the assas- 
sination of the beloved Lincoln, were to place the soldiers of the Union 
in a terrible dilemma when Congress came to impose upon them the 
execution of civic duties, requirements, and authority, in the ex-Con- 
federate States. General Sheridan was placed, of all who were so 
assigned, in the most embarrassing position, for he certainly had not 
only the more turbulent population to deal with, but the conditions 
surrounding him were of an extremely complex character. That he con- 
ducted himself wisely, even if he dealt sternly and severely with those 
whom he truthfully deemed "banditti," enleagued for the oppression 
and even murder of others on account of political differences, is seen 
in the fact that the representatives of the same communities, more 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 331 

than twenty years after the events referred to in this chapter, while 
holding the same political opinions that largely governed the action of 
those Sheridan in the line of duty felt compelled to suppress, have 
openly declaimed their judgment to be, that this American soldier was 
governed only by his best and highest convictions, and that in no sense 
did he ever seek knowingly to undulv interfere with civil liberty or 
personal rights. The acknowledgment thus made on the floor of Sen- 
ate and House, as well as in the party press, always opjDosed to the 
reconstruction policy, is a striking proof of how fast and far we have 
traveled towai'ds that state of feeling which enables us to discuss the 
past with little of personal asperity, or to make up judgments, even 
while diflbring, with but a modicum of partisan bitterness. The admis- 
sions thus made as to motives in this matter, are among the finest tributes 
yet paid to the fame and character of Philip Henry Sheridan. 

In order to place Sheridan's policy and actions in the right perspec- 
tive and relations, it will be necessary to outline the political-social 
conditions that followed the collapse of the Southern Confederacy, but 
more especially the special events that influenced the situation in Louis- 
iana. As a powerful commercial state, having within its borders the 
lower part of the "Father of Waters " — the Mississippi — and the 
largest city of the South, the Pelican State had, at the beginning of the 
secession movement, a considerable Union sentiment among its influen- 
tial and wealthier citizens. It possessed a unique free colored popula- 
tion, of considerable wealth and education, generally Creoles in descent, 
by the fact of their having a male parent of French or Spanish birth or 
ancestry. The existence of this people was in itself a guarantee of more 
intelligence among the slaves wherever their influence extended, even 
though the Creole class held themselves aloof and in some instances wei"e 
also slave-holders. These conditions are mentioned to show how, after 
Farragut and Butler captured New Orleans and the power of the Union 
began to be felt once more in the low^er river parishes, and gradually there- 
from into the other portions of the state, as the Confederate forces were 
slov^^ly driven out, the demand became urgent to establish civil govern- 
ment in due relations with the Union. 

Under General Banks, in 1S64 a constitutional convention was con- 
vened, and the anti-secession constitution and state was set up, with J. 
Madison Wells as governor. He was a well-known planter and law- 
yer, who claimed to have remained faithful to the Union in sentiment. 
In this movement the colored Unionists were not included, neither 
public policy nor sentiment having definitely reached the point of 
their inclusion. 



3^2 THE LIFE OF 

The convention of 1S64 sousjht to perpetuate itself by providing in a 
schedule attached to the constitution they framed, for their being recon- 
vened at the call of their president. Judge Durell. It was the attempt 
to exercise thi^questionable power — not bv Judge Durell, but h\ Judge 
How^ell, afterwards United States Senator from Louisiana, who claimed 
on Durell's retirement from the convention presidencv to be his suc- 
cessor — that brought about the terrible tragedy at INIechanics Hall in 
New Orleans during the summer of 1S66, an event which first brought 
Sheridan prominently forward in connection with Southern affairs, and 
finally was the immediate cause of the famous reconstruction legisla- 
tion of Congress. 

It is not proposed to enter into the right or wrong, politically speak- 
ing, of that legislation, or to discuss the constitutional interpretations 
that, pro and cow, were raised thereon. But it is necessary to state the 
plain historical facts as they appear from the Union stand-point. Pres- 
ident Johnson was a Tennesseean, whose fidelity to the Union cause 
during the secession movements and in the civil war that followed, 
justly excited for him the regard of the loyal North. He was made a 
brigadier-general, and assigned to duty as military governor of Tennessee 
— a state in which the powerful Union element had been at first dra- 
gooned into helplessness bv Confederate agencies and forces. It was a 
necessary condition of war politics that in such states as Louisiana, 
Tennessee, Missouri, as well as later, Arkansas, also, the Union element, 
should be protected in the i"eorganizing of their state governments on 
Union lines. It was this policv of Mr. Lincoln's administration that 
afforded the only basis for the subsequent attempts of Air. Johnson to 
"restore," not "reconstruct," the ex-Confederate States — an attempt 
on his part which produced the bitter controversy between the Executive 
and Congress that raged initil General Grant was first elected President, 
in 1S6S. There was a wide difference in this matter between Lincoln 
and Johnson. Mr. Lincoln had the full confidence of the country, and 
in all such matters as are under discussion acted in general upon the lines 
of approving legislation. In othei" matters he was within the orbit of 
his powers under the war necessities. The Union state governments 
named were set in motion to aid the army movement as much, or even 
more, than they were to inaugurate loyal civil government. Mr. John- 
son was in a very different position. The war was over, and the mili- 
taVv army of the LTnion was to be used only to keep order and aid in the 
final reestablishment of the Federal government. Congress was in 
full possession of its constitutional initiative. It was no longer tlie rule 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 333 

that in war the law was silent. From the Union stand-point — that from 
which the war was fought — Mr. Johnson's deliberate attempt, in the 
summer and fall of 1S65, to forestall the possible action of Congress, 
and by executive order to settle the whole question in advance of the 
current relations of the ex-Confederate States to the Nation they had 
attempted to destroy, and the Union they sought by war to disrupture, 
was to be regarded as dou1)tful and dangerous in character, if not, 
indeed, a deliberate usurpation on his part. His first act in this direc- 
tion — that of amnesty — while founded on a constitutional power, was 
made so broad, and yet so craftily worded, as to arouse well-founded 
alarm. In the thirteen classes of formerly active rebels who could only 
secure pardon by direct ajDplication to the President, if he so willed, 
were to be found the representative men of the various social and 
ruling classes into which the forces of chattelism had divided the slave- 
owning wSouth. Mr. Johnson was thus able to personally reach, by the 
exercise of his privilege of amnesty, each of these conti^olling forces. 
Following this peculiar exercise of the pardoning power came a bolder 
policy, in the recognition of the de facto civil power remaining over 
in several states from the military collapse, as possessing the de juro 
right to inaugurate a new and complete civil structure within the states 
where such fragments of government were found. Thus Mr. John- 
son's policy of "restoration" was initiated. 

The Republicans in control of Congress, who as Unionists had 
chosen and elected Mr. Johnson as Vice-President, and necessarily sus- 
tained his entrance on the executive powers and duties after Mr. 
Lincoln's assassination, could not see that it was their duty to consent 
to such a course as Mr. Johnson was pursuing, or to regard its pi'o- 
mulgation as within his constitutional right. The exigencies of the war 
had brought to the victors the powers of a triumphant belligerent. 
They had also jolaced in their hands the future condition of a race 
emancipated as a war measure. More than either consideration, was 
the constitutional power to initiate legislation, which certainly does not 
rest with the American Executive. Legislation was necessary. Presi- 
dential orders and proclamations were not laws. Mr. Johnson acted as 
if they were. So did his Southern allies, growing turbulent with the 
encouragement they received. Congress began the long and fierce dis- 
cussion of reconstruction days in its session of 1865-6. Johnson 
denounced its conduct as usurpation and its leaders as revolutionists, 
raising thereby the hopes of the ex-Confederate politicians and people, 
not in the direction of separation from, but of domination by the South, 



334 THE LIFE OF 

as of old, within the Union. They also showed very clearly what 
ti"eatment the freed people might expect at their hands. The laws 
proposed in the so-called legislatures of South Carolina, JSIississippi, 
Florida, and other states, sought to make of the emancipated a per- 
manently dependent class, whose children, under a forced apprentice- 
ship system, were to be made serfs and would be eventually reduced 
again to personal bondage. The adults were to be placed by these pro- 
posed codes at the mercy of the whites, to be compelled to make con- 
tracts to labor or to be sold as paupers, not to be allowed to move about 
at free will, to have their occupations and trades unduly taxed, not to 
carry arms, and in a hundred ways to be placed in the position of serf- 
dom. These attempts aroused the strongest indignation at the North, 
and it also excited counter-etlbrts at the South, which in Louisiana, at 
least, brought on the first of the bloody collisions of reconstruction 
days, involving Sheridan's name and administration in their progress 
and outcome. 

In Louisiana the citizens in sympathy with the Johnson policy soon 
became the most active, as the retvirning Confederate soldiery of that 
state settled down again. Without the colored men, free or freed, the 
Unionists were in a decided minority. With them they would be a 
large majority unless prevented from the exercise of the franchise by 
violence. 

This ^vas the state of affairs in the summer of iS66. Governor 
Wells was almost helpless. The lieutenant-governor, Voorhees, was 
an ex-Confederate soldier, as was the attorney-general. The mayor 
of New Orleans, J. T. Munroe, was notorious for his dislike ot 
Unionism. He had been compelled to leave the city by Butler. His 
chief of police was an ex-Confederate officer, and the police were nearly 
all ex-rebel soldiers. In calling the constitutional convention together, 
the " radicals" declared their purpose to be the enfranchisement of the 
colored Unionists, and the exclusion from the ballot-box, for a time at 
least, of the ex-rebel citizens. This created bitter hostility and anger. 
Judge Abell, of the city criminal court, who had been a member of the 
original convention, charged the grand jury against its lawfulness 
after Judge Howell had issued the call to reconvene and Governor 
Wells' proclamation for an election to fill vacancies. Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Voorhees set himself, with the state machinery behind him, to 
oppose the governor, and with the mayor decided to disperse the con- 
vention if it should meet. In. other words it was decided, if the mili- 
tary did not protect them, to kill off the whole body. Abell's opinion 
and the grand jury's indictments were to be the legal pretexts. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 33^ 

General Sheridan was not in New Orleans when the movement 
began. It is safe to assert that if he had been the convention would 
not have met, or that it would have been protected if it had done so. 
Major-General Absolom Baii-d, now inspector-general of the United 
States Army, ivas department commander. 

Judge R. K. Howell's proclamation was issued July 7, 1S66. The 
governor's election order was issued on the 37th. The convention 
was to assemble on the fifth Monday (30th) in July. On the night of 
the 27th the radicals held an open-air meeting, at which it was charged 
inflammatory speeches were made. Any expression was accounted 
such that favored the colored people and did not then agree with tlie 
ex-Confederates and their wishes. 

The Mechanics Hall tragedy occurred just before noon on Mondav, 
the 30th of July. It began on the street in an attack on a small pro- 
cession, and was continued in the hall. The New Orleans police sur- 
rounded and entered the building, shooting, wounding, and killing 
indiscriminately. The governor's office was in the building. That 
they did not enter. General Baird had troops in readiness, but had 
decided not to interfere for or against the convention. This was 
before the attack. General Baird sent an aide to learn when the bodv 
would meet. He was told that they had met and adjourned until 6 
p. M. The assault was made after the aide had left. The hall doors 
were forced open and the police fired indiscriminately into the room. 
The members, many wounded, drove the police back and barricaded the 
doors with settees, only to have them forced open three several times 
and the firing renewed. There were reported that day some thirty- 
seven killed and one hundred and forty-six wounded. A Congressional 
committee of inquiry afterwards declared the affair to have been pre- 
arranged, and charged that the state officers engaged with the mayor 
and chief of police were responsible for the crimes committed. Governor 
Wells did not take any part. The President encouraged the assailants 
by a dispatch stating that the military were to " sustain and not to 
obstruct or interfere with the proceedings of the court." At the same 
time General Baird's dispatches were given to the Johnson press 
without the knowledge of either Grant or the War Department. 

Sheridan's testimony taken by the Congressional committee will 
illustrate his position. After stating that he was not in the city on the 
30th and did not arrive till the evening of the 31st ; that he was at the 
mouth of the river when he received dispatches announcing the riot, 
and also statins that there still remained grreat excitement and that 



^36 THE LIFE OF 

martial law had been proclaimed, he proceeded to testify that " I 
found a very high state of excitement, and a very large proportion of 
the people were armed. There had been quite an extensive sale from 
the different stores having arms for sale, and this continued 
until I finally closed the stores. I found quite a state of excitement among 
the freedmen of the city, but no desire on their part to create a disturb- 
ance." He then gave in detail the measures taken to suppress disor- 
der and quiet alarms. He was in command, by the President's order, 
of Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, each of which states was a sepa- 
rate department. To General Baird, in command of Louisiana, Sheri- 
dan testified that the orders given, were : 

*•' That he was not to allow the military to become involved in any 
political discussion or matters of that kind ; that he was not to allow 
the military to be used for the support or objects of either party, for 
there were two parties here (Lotiisiana) bitterly antagonistic. The 
military were not to be used, except in case of a breach of the peace, 
in which case I considered the condition of the country to be such 
that the life and property of the citizens depended upon the military, 
and not upon the civil authority. He was, therefore, if necessity re- 
quired, to use the military to preserve the peace, but not to allow him- 
self to be involved unless the peace was broken." 

Certainly, these are orders that show a sensitive regard, all things 
considered, to the forms as well as the spirit of civil law. General 
Sheridan considered the police as quite competent to have maintained 
peace on the day of the riot. Twenty policemen, he declared, would 
have " been sufficient to have arrested the convention without violence." 
He further testified that there could have been no object, except " to 
haye prevented the police perpetrating a massacre," to have had the 
military present when the convention met. In a dispatch to General 
Grant, Sheridan expressed his opinion, under date of August 3d, as 
follows : 

" The more information I obtain of the affair of the 30th in this 
city, the more revolting it becomes. It was no riot. It was an absolute 
massacre by the police, which was not excelled in murderous cruelty 
by that of Fort Pillow. It was a murder which the mayor and police 
of this city perpetrated without the shadow of a necessity. Further- 
more, I believe it was premeditated, and every indication points to this." 

To the Congressional committee he declared " I have no reason to 
change the statement I made." This is plain speaking — direct character- 
ization ; but that was Sheridan's way, no matter whom he offended or 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 337 

what hostility was raised in his path. His dispatch of the ist of August, 
1 866, to General Grant still further emphasizes his clear vision and 
direct methods, as well as presents a lucid summing up of the atrocious 
crimes, which, under raging political passions, had been so horribly 
committed : 

New Orleans, August i, 1866. 
General : 

You are doubtless aware of the serious riot wliich occurred in this 
city on the 30th. A political body, styling itself the convention of 
1864, met on the 30th, as it is alleged, for the purpose of remodelling 
the present constitution of the state. The leaders were political agita- 
tors and revolutionary men, and the action of the convention was liable 
to produce breaches of the public peace. 

I had made up my mind to arrest the head men, if the proceed- 
ings of the convention were calculated to disturb the tranquility of the 
department, but I had no cause for action until they committed the overt 
act. In the meantime, official dutv called me to Texas, and the mayor 
of the city, during my absence, suppressed the convention by the use 
of the police force, and in so doing attacked the members of the con- 
vention and a party of 200 negroes, and with fire-arms, clubs, and 
knives, in a manner so unnecessary and atrocious, as to compel me to 
declare that it was murder. ... I believe that the sentiment of 
the general community is great regret at this unnecessary cruelty, and 
the police could have made any arrests they saw fit without sacrificing 
lives. 

P. H. Sheridan, 
Major- General Commanding. 

All of this dispatch, showing the character of the riot, when given 
out at the White House to a favorite correspondent, was suppressed 
and withheld. General Sheridan's positive course and testimony did 
not please Mr. Johnson any more than it did those whom he forcibly 
and justly stigmatized as " murderers," and as willing participants in an 
vmwarranted massacre. 

The story of the New Orleans massacre, and the report thereon by 
the Shellabarger committee, as well as the positive denunciation of it 
to which Sheridan gave utterance, had the effect in Congress, after a 
winter of most remarkable discussion, of bringing about the passage ot 
the original reconstruction act, in which the ex-Confederate States were 
by its terms divided into five military districts, the commanders of 
which were to direct and enforce the provisions of the act. Under it 
a registration of voters was to be had, the freedmen being made citi- 
zens and voters by its terms. All who had held office and sworn 
allegiance to the United States before they entered the rebellion in 



i)s 



THE LIFE OF 



favor of the Confederacy were to be excluded from the registration. 
The military commanders were to have the power to remove all de 
facto civil officials who created disorder, refused to obey, or impeded 
the reconstruction acts. The genesis of this law was found in an act 
of 1864, by which the President was authorized to appoint a provisional 
governor for any state in rebellion, to have the rank of a brigadier- 
general, when he should deem it necessary. Judge Shellabarger for 
the New Orleans committee, had oflered a bill for the provisional gov- 
ernment of Louisiana. This was made over into a general bill. The 
long debate arose over the extension of suflVage to the negro, the put- 
ting of Southern States under long probation, with provisional govern- 
ments, or the speedy doing away of the ad Interbn conditions. The 
same act required that these states before being admitted to Congres- 
sional representation, should exhibit clean bills of political health, in 
the form of constitutions prohibiting secession, declaring the Union per- 
manent, enacting full political and civil rights for the colored people, 
providing free schools, and forbidding payment of any rebel debts. A 
I'egistration was to be taken immediately, and the first vote had was to 
be in each state for or against a state constitutional convention. 

These statements illustrate broadly the distinctions between the 
President's 'M-estoration " and the "reconstruction" of Congress. 
Neither polic}' recognized the destructibility of any state, but that of 
Congress was framed upon the constitutional duty of seeing that each 
state was possessed with a "■ republican form of government." Con- 
gress exercised the right of saying what was such a form. The Presi- 
dent attempted to " restore " without any guarantee whatever. After 
four years of armed rebellion those who participated therein wished to 
walk in and take possession of their old seats. An act of war having 
emancipated, they could not dii'ectly repossess their old chattels, but 
they sought to control them for their own advantage, indirectly, at least. 
It was no wonder that true soldiers like Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and 
Thomas, with others, should at once range themselves with Congress. 

General Sheridan was appointed on the 3Sth of March, 1S67, 
military commander of the Fifth Reconstruction District, consisting of 
the states of Louisiana and Texas. The latter had an appointee of 
Mr. Johnson, as provisional governor — Mr. Throckmorton. Louis- 
iana was still organized under the constitution of 1864, and J. Madison 
Wells was serving as governor. There was no uncertainty in General 
Sheridan's order assuming command. lie declared the law would be 
executed without fear or favor, but pending that, no one would be removed 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. ^39 

from office except for cause, as already stated. Next day, March 29th, 
not having forgotten the victnns of the Mechanics Hall massacre, 
General Sheridan, by order, removed from office Judge E. Abell of the 
criminal court, Andrew S. Herron, Attorney-General, and J. T. 
Munroe, Mayor of New Orleans. The first was charged with using 
his court to bring about the massacre by making it appear that no one 
would be tried therein for the deeds done in it. The second was 
accused of trying to punish the victims, not the murderers, and the 
last was charged with practically inciting the massacre. 

This vigorous action was the key-note of General Sheridan's admin- 
istration. He issued orders for registration to begin May ist and end 
June 30th. Here came one of his earliest collisions with the President, 
who, through the adjutant-general, directed it be continued one month 
longer. Sheridan announced obedience, but protested in very plain 
language. He declared that the interpretation of the reconstruction 
laws by Attorney-General vStanberry was " a precipitate opening of a 
broad, macadamized road to perjury," and asked Grant plainly if he 
should obey them. As they were not promulgated in the forms 
required by army regulations and military law. General Grant told 
Sheridan to follow his own interpretation. Shortly after. Congress 
passed a supplementary act placing reconstruction wholly under Gen- 
eral Grant's direction, and requiring military commanders to follow 
their own interpretations of said laws. 

These things did not make the friction less, but more. Sheridan 
kept on his own way, however. A notable act of his administration 
was the removal of Governor Throckmorton. One of his most positive 
acts, making an amusing episode in the dreary virulence of political 
violence and crime, was that of his summary removal of Governor 
Wells from his office. 

In the winter preceding, the so-called state legislature passed a 
bill for repairing the levees and providing for issuing bonds to the 
amount of $4,000,000. Afterwards the governor and legislature quar- 
reled, evidently as to their shares of the plunder. Sheridan stopped 
that summarily, by dismissing both from any control, and appointing a 
commission himself to execute the law. The Secretary of War afterwards 
(June 3d) suspended the commission and ordered Sheridan to dismiss 
Governor Wells. The office was offered to a most estimable and able 
Louisiana lawyer, then residing in Washington, Mr. Thomas J. Durant. 
He declined, and Benjamin J. Flanders accepted the appointment. 



340 THE LIFE OF 

Wells declined to vacate, and at last Sheridan ojrowing disgusted, sent 
the following \ erv unequivocal an*.l contemptuous order: 

Heaiic^uauters Fu ru Mu.irARY Disruicr, ) 
Xeav Okleans, lune 7, 1867. \ 

Sir : 

CJeneral Flanders has just intornied nie that he has made an official 
demanvl on you tor the records of the othce which you have hitherto 
held as governor of Louisiana, and that you have declined to turn them 
over to him, disputing the right to remove from office by me, \vhich 
right you have acknowledged and urged upon me up to the time of 
your removal. I therefore send IJrevet Brigadier-General James \\". 
Forsyth, of my statf, to notity you he is sent by me to eject you from 
the governor's room forcibly, imless you consider this notification as" 
equivalent to ejection. 

This same Governor Wells Sheridan declared to be " a political 
trickster and a dishonest man." He was full, he said, of "subterfuge 
and political chicanery." In these remarks the soldier w as imquestion- 
ably right. His dispatches, letters, and reports of this period afford 
the raciest of reading. He minced no words, and met every accusation 
or attack in the most positive manner. It was the hot, ugly, murderous 
period of the Ku-Klu\ K.lan and of the beginnings of the White League 
conspiracy and its tragedies. All these acts and proceedings Sheridan 
roundly denounced, and he stung their supporters in Louisiana and 
Texas, whom he declared in a famous letter to have nundered 3.500 
citizens because of ditlerences of political opinion and of color. He 
denounced them as •• political banditti," and asked for authority to deal 
with them as such. General Sheridan ccnulucted the tirst registration, 
and superviseil the tjrst election under the reconstruction acts in Louis- 
iana and Texas. In Louisiana the registration aggregated 127,639, of 
whom $2,907 were the new colored voters. At the election for or 
against a constitutional convention, 75,083 votes were cast for, 104,006 
against. It has been estimated that 40,000 whites were disfranchised in 
that state alone, but this is a greatly exaggerateil statement. On the 1st 
of August, 1S67, Sheridan removed the aldermen and other New Or- 
leans officials for impeding reconstruction, and on the 17th the President 
relieved him. In the fmal report of his operations in the Fit\h Military 
District, General Sheridan declared that the ditVicult situation in which 
he luul been placed had been rendered more difficult by the open sym- 
pathies the Presitlent expressed towards those who hail been removed. 
He ailded signiticantly : "1 have been charged by the highest authority 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 341 

of the Nation with bciii^' tyrannical and a paitisan, anil I ai\i not afraid 
to sav that when such charj^cs arc nuulo a<;"ainst nio, 1 tool in niv heart 
they are untrutht'ul." 

He ili(.l not return to New Orleans until iS}'^, when the i^perations 
of the \\ hite League were ilangerous and uiurderous enouj^h to uuluce 
Presiileut Grant to send v^heridan down there. His presence was 
enough to cause a sullen submission at least. It was, taken altogether, 
a strange chapter in a soldier's career. The needs of the hour proved 
liim capable, and time has certainly justitied both his motives and his 
judgment. 

From this date onward, uytil his death, Sheridan remained clear of 
all political entanglements. His position in the armv made this the' 
onlv proper course, if polic\ alone had guitled his actions, but it was 
also the course which his own convictions of dutv ilictated. Xo one 
who could have had the right to know of General Sheriilan's opinii)ns 
on public affairs, would have long been in doubt of his personal atti- 
tuile towards them and the partv divisions into which they were neces- 
sarilv divided. He was, like Grant and Sherman, in sympathy with 
the Republican party, in its historic attituile towarils the Union, and in 
its relations to the economic problems that are a part of its principles, 
purposes, and policy. Of this there can be no question. 

But General Sheridan w'as no politician. As an American citizen 
he held sternh' to his convictions of public dutv. As a soldier he was 
honorably and properly a ni>n-partisan, serving tlie whole people 
whose defender he was, and keeping true watch and ward over all in- 
terests intrusteil to him. l>ut he always telt keenly over the reconstruc- 
tion period and the severe responsibilities which it thrust upon him in 
larger degree than on any other one of the soldiers who were calleil to 
the execution of trusts so repugnant to the general cast of a soldier's lite 
and dutv. He felt then that he was right in the course he had pur- 
sued. He knew afterwards that results fully viiulicated his acts. 




GEN. WII I.IAM T. SHERMAN, 



SHERIDAN'S PREDECESSOR AS GENERAL OF THE ARMY HERO OF THE MARCH TO THE SEA, 
AND ONE OF THE THREE GREAT CAPTAINS UNDER WHOM THE WAR WAS 
BROUGHT TO A SUCCESSFUL CLOSE. 



Chapter XXVII. 



IN COMMAND AT FORT LEAVENWORTH 
AND CHICAGO. 

COMMANDING THE DEPARTMENT OF MISSOURI — INDIAN WARS AND DISTURB- 
ANCES — SERIOUS MILITARY OPERATIONS NECESSITATED — REMOVING TRIBES 
FROM THE GREAT PLAINS — CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE KIOWAS, COMANCHES, 
AND CHEYENNES — MADE A LIEUTENANT-GENERAL — WHERE AND HOW THE 
NEWS WAS RECEIVED — HEADqUARTERS IN CHICAGO — VISIT TO EUROPE — 

SHERIDAN AT SEDAN HOB-NOBBING WITH BISMARCK — THE GREAT FIRE 

MARRIAGE AND REMOVAL TO WASHINGTON 

Major-General Sheridan was assigned by the general-in-chief, 
on the 1 2th of September, 1867, to the command of the Department ot 
the Missouri. It was a grateful relief from the terrible strain of recon- 
struction responsibilities, ably borne though they were. It was also a 
command of considerable military importance, involving as it did 
heavy conflicts with the Indian tribes of the region, as well as the 
execution of a policy of concentration and removal which was designed 
to clear the central portion of our western region from the hindrances 
to settlement and railroad progress which the presence therein ot 
strong Indian tribes necessarily created. The recognition of Sheridan 
for this command was in the line of Grant's course towards him. 
Sherman as the senior and ranking officer, was relieved largely of 
.severe departmental service, and was then engaged as a member of the 
Indian Peace Commission in the inquiries and negotiations that were 
needed to achieve the jDolicy indicated. 

Sheridan's new headquarters were at Fort Leavenworth — the post 
which had become the most important in what might have been termed 
the frontier West. He found there his old comrade of the regular armv, 
and of the Army of the Cumberland, General Elliott, who suc- 
ceeded to the command of Sheridan's old division on his transfer to the 
Potomac. The department included the Indian Territoiy, Kansas, 
Colorado, Nebraska, and that portion of Dakota now known as the 
Territory of Wyoming. This region was more or less disturbed by 
Indian hostility when Sheridan took command at Fort Leavenworth. 



344 THE LIFE OF 

The Indian Tenitoiy had not quite settled from its war divisions, 
and constant watchtuhiess was needed to prevent disorders which might 
readily have grown serious. The great problem involved in Sheridan's 
department administration was mainly confined, however, to the terri- 
tory lying between the Platte in Nebraska and the Canadian River in 
the western portion of the Indian Territory, and of the southern line of 
Kansas, further east. It extended as far west as the Rockv Mountains. 
In that region the Utes were restless, but not openly hostile. 

In the region to which Sheridan's main etforts and operations were 
directed there was a considerable body of Indians. In the Missouri 
Valley itself was a number of semi-civilized tribes, nearly all of 
whom have since been removed to the Indian Territory or become 
incorporated in the general body politic. In Nebraska were the Otoes 
and other tribal remnants ; in Eastern Kansas weie the Delawares. 
Kickapoos, Shawnees, Peorias. Weas, Pinkeshaws, Osages, Pottawat- 
omies, and Kaw or Kansas Indians, numbering in all between six and 
seven thousand souls. The Nebraska bands were not removed. About 
eighty per cent, of all the Kansas Indians have been removed and settled 
again, where the semi-civili/ed IkhHcs all tbrm part of the Cherokee 
nation, so far as organizeil civic action on their part is concerned. The 
work of removal was begun under Sheridan's department administration. 
West of Fort Rilev. serious work was before him and the troops under 
his command, ^vhich included besides regular white and colored regi- 
ments and batteries, at least two regiments of Kansas volunteers, the 
Seventeenth and Eighteenth, raised for Indian service. These regi- 
ments were* commanded by veteran soldiers, ex-Governor S. J. 
Crawford, formerly colonel of the Eighty-third, I'nited States Colored 
Troops, and Thomas J. Moonlight, ex-colonel of the Fourteenth 
Kansas Volunteers (cavalry), and now governor of ^V3•oming Terri- 
tory, being the colonels respectively of these organizations. In what is 
now- known as Wyoming, the Cheyennes, Blackfeet, Northern Coman- 
ches, and some Sioux bands re'quired constant watching. In Southwest 
Nebraska the Pawnees were restless. But in Western Kansas, the 
Kiowas, Arapahoes, Comanches, Apaches of the Plains, and the Chey 
ennes, the latter tho most warlike aiul valorous of all Indians on the 
plains, were openly hostile in feeling, ami tVom the outset more or less 
actively so. 

These Indians, the Kiowas especially, during the last year of the 
Civil War kept the feeble frontier settlements in continual danger. 
Thev w'ere unquestionablv influenced in this hostility by olil traders 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 34^ 

and •' squaw men," who were generally in sympathy with the South at 
the time. It is also known that the Confederate military authorities 
endeavored to organize their hostility to the whites as a direct menace 
to the Union cause in that vast and sparsely protected region. The 
activity of the Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico military authorities 
prevented these intrigues from making any great headway. But the 
infamous affair at Sand Creek, Southern Colorado, where, in the early 
fall of 1864, Colonel Chivington with a regiment of Colorado loo-day 
men attacked and slew the inmates of a Kiowa camp under Black Kettle, 
an Indian chief who had always been esteemed by frontiers-men as 
friendly to the whites, caused a general irruption of this tribe and the 
other Indians of the plains against the settlers of Western Kansas, in 
September and October of that year. The raiders were met and driven 
back by a force under General J. G. Blunt. Next year they were 
checked by volunteers and regulars under Crawford, Moonlight, Elliott, 
and others. General Hancock was in command and had a severe 
fight in 1 866, before he svas ordered by President Johnson to supersede 
Sheridan. When the latter assumed his new command, as Grant had 
foreseen, he found his work already cut out for him. 

The Indians against whom he had especially to direct his forces 
numbered in all about eleven thousand persons. The Comanches 
were a warlike tribe, who generally roamed over the headwaters of the 
Red and Canadian rivers and across the staked plains of Texas as far 
south as the Rio Grande. The Kiowas and Arapahoes hunted and 
lived about the Upper Arkansas and as far north as the Smoky Hill 
branch of the Kansas River. The Cheyennes roamed and hunted 
through the whole of Kansas, west of the looth mei-idian of west longi- 
tude. They were unyielding foes, and the bands known as Dog- 
Soldiers, then under Mo-ke-ta-ve-tah, had not been at peace for at least 
twenty years preceding Sheridan's operations. The last terrible drub- 
bing they received before the new commander annihilated them, was 
given bv the gallantColonel Summer, who with the Fifth Cavalrv in the 
late summer of 1857 ^^^^^ ^'P their trail from Fort Riley, and never left 
it until he had reached their camp and defeated them in a terrible fight, 
utterly routing and killing a considerable proportion of the tribe. Dining 
the war they recovered their old strength and spirit, and once more be- 
came a terror to the growing settlements. The progress of railroad con- 
struction increased their hostility, and necessitated increasing vigilance 
and activity against them. When the Civil War closed there was not 
it single mile of railroad north of Jcftcrson Citv and west of the Missouri 



346 THE LIFE OF 

River : certainly, not outside of California. When General Sheridan was 
transferred to Leavenworth, the Union and Central Pacific roads were 
nearing their junction in Utah, and hundreds of miles of other roads, as 
the Kansas Pacific, Pacific, and others, were already in local operation. 
The duties of a military commander in a region so active with the van- 
guard forces of civilization, and so hostile with the expiring assaults of 
aboriginal savagery, were ot the most diverse and exacting character. 
Railroad construction at times and in part, assumed a semi-military 
character. Their advance also brought together the criminal scum of 
our westej-n life, and trains had continually to be protected against it by 
militar}' detachments. All this work was in addition to the compre- 
hensive and Exacting demands that were imposed by Indian hostility and 
subjugation. As in the work of reconsti-uction, Sheridan's new duties 
involved not only the subduing of disorder and the prevention of out- 
breaks, but it required that the work to be done should proceed upon 
plans that looked to a final solution of the whole question at issue. It 
was the necessity of the situation that the Indians must be wholly 
removed from the Plains region. 

The Indian outbreak and subsequent campaign of 1S6S-9, gave the 
untiring department commander the opportunity to accomplish in full 
the policy of removal, or at least to compel Indian submission thereto., 
and the easy inauguration, therefore, of steps to complete this purpose. 

In October, 1S68, the valleys of the Smoky Hill, Solomon, and 
Saline rivers were the scenes of a series of Indian atrocities as hor- 
rible as anv that have marked the bloody progress of our frontier 
growth. The Cheyenne Dog soldiers were especially fiendish, and 
made the Saline and Solomon valleys the scenes of outrages too terri- 
ble to narrate. Sheridan was at Fort Leavenworth, liefore the day 
had closed on which the news was received, he was with his stafi' on 
the road to Fort Haj'S, upon the Smoky Hill River, and the then ter- 
minus of the Kansas Pacific, to which a rapid concentration and forward- 
ing of troops was ordered. It was the best place for a movement 
against the savages, who were struck heavily on the flank as they 
rapidly fell back. A winter campaign was inaugurated at once, and 
pushed under his own command with the same untiring and remorse- 
less activity that was exhibited in the Shenandoah Valley in the over- 
throw and pursuit of Early. The campaign proved a bewildering one 
to the Indian enemy. It was a surprise to the settlers. On arrival at 
Fort Hays, Sheridan sent out strong detachments of cavalry in all the 
directions required for pursuit, with orders to follow to the utmost 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. ^7 

He then massed a considerable force, and formed depots of supplies at 
various points. All this was done with such great celerity that it 
remains among the older settlers and frontiers-men a subject of admira- 
tion to this day. They had never seen before the spirit of a great 
soldier carried into the work of protecting their homes and ranches, 
united as well, with that of permanently subduing a savage foe. 

The severe task Sheridan set himself was magnificently performed. 
To those who criticise only from the stand-point of war among civilized 
peoples it may seem that the overthrow of not over ten thousand half- 
naked and half-armed Indians, men, women, and children, was an easy 
piece of work in comparison with what our soldier had previously 
performed. This would not be a correct judgment. All things con- 
sidered, the warrior Indians were more than equal, at first, to double 
their number of ordinary troopers. This advantage was lost to them 
under the untiring pursuit that Sheridan instituted — such a pursuit as 
must always be destructive to aborigines, whose staying qualities are 
never as great as those civilized troops develop, especially such hardy 
troopers as Sheridan commanded. In that memorable winter cam- 
paign the Indians were beaten in all engagements, followed to all their 
lairs, and routed in every direction. Their villages were taken and 
destroyed. Their ponies were in large part killed or captured. Their 
supplies were cut ofi'. Hundreds of their fighting men were slain. 
The unyielding Cheyenne Dog soldiers, with their chief, were actually 
annihilated, only one warrior, a minor chief, escaping. Their women 
and children were afterwards divided among other bands — so that the 
formidable Dog soldiers were literally "wiped out." 

Before the campaign closed Sheridan received the surrender of 
nearly ten thousand Indians, whom he placed under strong military 
guard on the territory they are still occupying in the upper valleys of 
the Wichita River, near the mouths of Medicene and Cache creeks, 
and within the limits of the Indian Territory. The Cherokee Nation 
had sold this section to the United States government by the treaty 
of 1 866, for the express purpose of concentrating and settling thereon 
these and other tribes of a similar character. Sheridan's captives in- 
cluded a large proportion of the tribes by whom the proposed occupa- 
tion was to be made. They are still settled there, and are now pros- 
perous communities of cattle raisers and farmers. 

Ulysses S. Grant had been elected President of the United States. 
The close of Sheridan's successful Indian campaign was almost cotem- 
poraneous with the inauguration of the new President. The influence 



348 THE LIFE OF 

of Grant had already secured from Congress the legislative power neces- 
sary to enable him to make the first appointments given in his new po- 
sition. The commission of general held by Grant expired with his 
resignation thereof. Sherman had been named, as was Grant when 
made general, in the acts which authorized his appointment as lieu- 
tenant-general. Legislation was therefore necessary. It had been ob- 
tained. Grant's first act as President after taking the oath of office, 
reading his inaugural, and calling the Senate together in executive ses- 
sion, was to nominate William Tecumseh Sherman as General, and 
Philip Henry Sheridan as Lieutenant-General in the Army of the 
United States. The nominations were immediately confirmed. 

Sheridan, two thousand miles westward, was moving east with his 
■wearied escort, consisting of a detachment of the Tenth Cavalry, 
accompanied by Colonels Lebo and Schuyler CrosVw, ^lajor J, W. 
Clous, and Colonel McGonigle. They were returning to Fort Ha3-s. 
Between the middle of February and March 6th, a march of over three 
hundred miles had been made. Sheridan had left the camp of the cap- 
tured Indians, on the head waters of the Wichita River, after a remark- 
able talk to such of their head men as were left, in which he had 
firmly, but without anger or the arrogance of power, told them what 
they could expect from the "Great Father." His little command was 
but twenty miles from Fort Hays on the Smoky Hill. The long 
shadows of the afternoon sun Avere descending as a military courier 
\vas seen fleetly riding towards the advancing command. The vedettes 
and their commander were proudly saluted, but the courier drew no 
rein. It was evident that whatever was the news, he was proud of 
being its carrier. But in his haste he rode by the general, and an 
orderly was sent to inform the rider that he was at the head of the little 
column. Turning his horse swiftly, the messenger drew a 3'ellow 
envelope from his pocket, and rode up furiously, reining his horse 
almost back upon his haunches, and standing in his stirrups, as he 
touched his hat in a military salute, exclaimed while handing over the 
dispatch : 

" I have the honor of saluting the Lieutenant-General of the Army 
of the United States." 

The bronzed, flushed face of the trooper was all aglow with pride 
and pleasure, as at once he became a rigid and martial statue "at 
attention." 

The cry was heard, and even before the gallant little soldier to whom 
the dispatch was addressed could open it, the soldiers all, officers and 
men, shouted "To the Lieutenant-General ! " 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 349 

General Sheridan's face, says an e.ye-witness, was flushed with 
mingled sensations of pride and emotion. His hand trembled with 
feeling as he opened the packet. It was a telegram from General 
Sherman substantially in these words : 

" Grant has been inaugurated. He has just nominated me for Gen- 
eral and you for Lieutenant-General." 

" To the Lieutenant-General ! " went up in shouts along the little 
column of oflicers and troopers which broke the solitudes of the Smoky 
Hill; " To the Lieutenant-General! " again anil again in rounds of 
cheers. And then the bugle gave the order "trot," and shortly the 
little command was briskly galloping toward Fort Hays. The next 
day, March 7th, General Sheridan, with two aides, left for Wash- 
ington. They arrived in the middle of March. Sheridan was the 
recipient of the most marked social attention. After a short rest he 
was assigned to the Military Division of the Missouri, embracing all 
the -territory north and south from the Gulf to tlie British line, and from 
the Missouri River west to the Rocky Mountains. His headquarters 
were fixed in Chicago. Four departments, each commanded b}- a well- 
known soldier, were included within this great division. 

One unaccustomed to the routine of ami}' life and administration 
would naturally suppose that the lieutenant-general was now to have 
a very easy time. In this, however, the critic would be mistaken. 
The duties of an American army commander, even in peace, are exact- 
ing enough to fill the working ambition of any man competent to per- 
form them. As already seen, in the conduct of the Department of Mis- 
souri the Indian troubles were serious and absorbing. The conditions 
imposed by the earlier days of railroad construction and traffic enjoined 
serious responsibilities on the military. Besides these things, there 
were to be foreseen and met tlie inevitable changes in frontier army 
administration that the new highways and the settlements which accom- 
panied them rendered so necessary. Of tliese matters, Sheridan in his 
new position was at the fore. He prepared him to live comfortably. 
In Chicago, from the. outset, the general became, for his personal 
qualities, as well as his distinguished position, a great social favorite. 
It is a feeling which grew with his years, and became a deep admira- 
tion when, during the great fire, he was al)lc to perform signal sen-ice 
for a people so terriblly stricken. 

But he had hardly got his business office and personal belongings 
into good shape, when the thunder of war came floating over the 
Atlantic. France and Prussia declared war, and the latter, sustained by 



3^0 THE LIFE OF 

tlie whole of Germany, commenced her terribly aggressive war on her 
old enemy. As customary with our government, it was determined at 
once to send a distinguished American officer to observe the progress 
of the war. The lieutenant-general was selected to represent us. 
Accompanied by Brigadier-General J. W. Forsyth, now colonel of the 
famous Seventh Cavalry, United States Army, which has been com- 
manded since the Rebellion by Generals Sturgis and Custer, Sheridan 
sailed for Europe. Forsyth was a member of the staff, serving with 
the lieutenant-general from 1S63 till 1S7S, and rejoining him in iSSo. 
He received six-months leave of absence, with permission to go beyond 
the sea. Like Major-General Schofield, who succeeds to the duties 
of General commanding the Army, he was a classmate of Sheridan's 
at West Point. They both graduated, however, a year before he did, 
owing to the fact that his conflict w^ith Cadet-Sergeant Terrell set the 
little Ohio soldier back a year in his class. 

Lieutenant-General Sheridan was ordered to Washington on the 
loth of July, 1870. His orders made him special commissioner of the 
United States at the theatre of military operations. He was to observe 
the methods of the French and Prussian governments in the conduct of 
war. On his return he was to make a report on the cavalry, infantry, 
and artillery of each, and also upon the arms, tactics, and discipline of 
each army. 

General Sheridan sailed at once, and from London addressed to 
both the French and Prussian governments a formal ofhci'al request 
for permission to accompany their armies. The French responded 
with a brusque refusal ; the Germans with a direct royal approval. He 
is announced as leaving for the Continent on the 8th of August. On 
the 1 3th he left Berlin for Prussian headquarters. He was cheerfully 
given all the facilities needed. He was, in fact, treated as a royal 
guest on his arrival at King William's headquarters at Pont-a-Mousson. 

Lieutenant-General Sheridan was obliged to select the German 
armies as his field of observation, because the French Emperor refused 
to allow his armies to be accompanied by foreign oflicers. x\s the 
Germans wei^e the invading and attacking force, and also from the fact 
of their high reputation for military science, skill, discipline, drill, and 
mechanism, Sheridan was fortunate in his military hosts. The distin- 
guished soldier was received with the honors and courtesy due his rank 
and high reputation. He was attached as a guest to the headquarters 
of Prince Bismarck, and was present as a critical observer at the battles 
of Gravelock, Beaumont, and Sedan, at the latter witnessing personally 
the surreifder of Louis Napoleon. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 3^1 

At the battle of Sedan, Sheridan was on the field from the first 
movement at 6 a. m., on the ist of September, until the surrender of 
Louis Napoleon at 5.15 p. m. The Sedan correspondence of George 
W. Smalley, the well-known journalist, who was with the German 
Army also, is replete with reference to General Sheridan's opinions and 
comments. There was very heavy musketry firing at noon. Mr. 
Smalley says : 

'• General Sheridan, by whose side I was standing at the time, told 
me that he did not remember ever to have heard so well sustained a 
fire of small arms. It made itself heard above the roar of the bat- 
teries at our feet. ... At i o'clock the French batteries on the 
edge of the wood towards Torcy, and above it, opened a vigorous fire 
on the advancing Prussian column of the Third Corps, whose evident 
intention it was to storm the hill northwest of La Garenne, and so 
gain the key of the position on that side. At 1.05 another French 
battery near the wood opened on the Prussian columns, which were 
compelled to keep shifting their ground till ready for their final rush at 
the hills, in order to avoid oftering so good a mark to the French shells. 
Shortly after we saw the first Prussian skirmishers on the crest of the 
La Garenne hills above Torcy. They did not seem to be in strength, 
and General Sheridan, standing behind me, exclaimed : 

" ' Ah ! the beggars are too weak ; they can never hold that position 
against all those French.' 

•• The general's prophecy soon proved correct, for the French 
advanced at least six to one, and the Prussians were forced to retreat 
down the hill to seek reinforcements from their columns which were 
hurrying to their support. In five minutes they came back again, this 
time in greater force, but still terribly inferior to those huge French 
masses. 

'"'•Good heavens! The French cuirassiers are going to charge 
them,' cried General Sheridan. And sure enough the regiment of 
cuirassiers, their helmets and breastplates flashing in the September 
sun, formed in sections of squadrons and dashed down on the scatteied 
Prussian skirmishers, without deigning to form a line. Squai^es are 
never used by the Prussians, and the infantry received the cuirassiers 
with a crushing ' quick fire ' at about one hundred yards' distance, load- 
ing and firing with extreme rapidity, and shooting with unfailing pre- 
cision into the dense French squadrons. The eftect was startling. 
Over went horses and men in numbers, in masses, in hundreds ; and 
the regiment of proud French cuirassiers went hurriedly back in dis- 



3^2 THE LIFE OF 

order ; went back faster tlian it came ; went ])ack scarcely a regiment 
in strength, and not at all a regiment in form. 

"■The great object of the Prussians was gained, since tliey were 
not driven from the crest of the hill they sought to hold. 

" ' There will be a devil of a fight for that crest before it is won or 
lost,' said Sheridan, straining his e}es through his field-glass at the hill 
which was not over three miles from us." 

Several charges of a similar character by the French cavalry, fol- 
lowed the one which has been briefly described, each ending as the 
first one did. After the last desperate charge of the French cavalry, 
General Sheridan remarked to Mr. Smalley that he never saw anything 
so reckless, so utterly foolish, as that last charge. " It was sheer mur- 
der," he added, emphatically. 

"At 2.05 in the afternoon the French totally abandoned the hill 
between Torcy and Sedan, and fell back on the faubourg of Caval, just 
outside the ramparts of the town. 

" ' Now the battle is lost for the French,' said General Sheridan, to 
the delight of the Prussian officers. One would almost have imagined 
that the French had heard his words : they had hardly been uttered 
when there came a lidl in the firing all along the line. 

" At 6.30 the King received Napoleon's letter of surrender, and sat 
down to write a note to the Emperor. While the King was writing 
this note. Count Bismarck came up to Generals Sheridan and Forsythi 
and Mr. Smalley, and heartily shook our hands. 

"'Let me congratulate you most sincerely, count,' said General 
Sheridan. ' I can only compare the surrender of Napoleon to that of 
General Lee at Appomattox Court House.' " 

General Adam Badeau has recently caused to be published the 
following letter, which for its frank, unrestrained freedom, written in 
the confidence of personal friendship, possesses a peculiar value in 
this relation : 

RijEiMs, France, Sept. 13, 1870. 
My Dear Generai. Grant : The capture of the Emperor Napoleon 
and McMahon's army at Sedan on the ist of September has thrown 
France into a chaos which even embarrasses the Prussian authorities. 
It seems to a quiet observer as though Prussia had done too much. 
Whom to negotiate with, whom to hold responsible in the final settle- 
ment, are becoming grave questions, and one cannot see what will be 
the result. I was present at the battles of Beaumont, Gravelotte, and 
Sedan, and have had my imagination clipped, in seeing these battles^ 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 3^3 

of many of the errors it had run into in its conception of what might 
be expected of the trained troops of Europe. 

There was about the same percentage of sneaks or runaways, 
and the general conditions of the battles were about the same as our 
own. One thing was especially noticeable — the scattered condition of 
the men in going into battle, and their scattered condition while en- 
gaged. At Gravelotte, Beaumont, and Sedan, the men engaged on 
both sides were so scattered that it looked like thousands of men en- 
gaged in a deadly skirmish without any regard to lines or formation. 
These battles were of this style of fighting, commencing at long range, 
and might be called progressive fighting, closing at night by the French 
always giving up their position or being driven from it in this way by 
the Prussians. The latter had their own strategy up to the Moselle, 
and it was good and successful. After that river was reached, the 
French made the strategy for the Prussians, and it was more successful 
than their own. The Prussian soldiers are very good, brave fellows, 
all young, scarcely a man over twenty-seven in the first levies. They 
had gone into each battle with the determination to win. It is especially 
noticeable, also, that the Prussians have attacked the French wherever 
they have found them, let the numbers be great or small, and, so far as 
I have been able to see, though the grand tactics of bringing on the 
engagements have been good, yet the battles have been won by the 
good square fighting of the men and junior officers. It is true the 
Prussians have been two to one, except in one of the battles before 
Metz — that of the i6th of August; still the French have had the ad- 
vantage of very strong positions. 

Generally speaking, the French soldiers have not fought well. 
It may be because the poor fellows had been discouraged by the trap 
into which their commander had led them, but I must confess to having 
seen some of the "tallest" running at Sedan I have ever witnessed, 
especially on the left of the French position — all attempts to make the 
men stand seemed to be unavailing. So disgraceful was this that it caused 
the French cavalry to make three or four gallant but foolish charges, as 
if it were to show that there was at least some manhood left in a 
mounted French soldier. 

I am disgusted ; all my boyhood's fancies of the soldiers of the 
great Napoleon have been dissipated, or else the soldiers of the " Little 
Corporal " have lost their elan in the pampered parade soldiers of the 
" Man of Destiny." 

The Prussians will settle, I think, by making the line of the 

23 



^^4 THE LIFE OF 

ISIoselle the German line, taking in INIetz and Strasbuvg, and the ex- 
penses of the war. 

I have been most kindly received by the King and Count Bis- 
marck and all the officers at the headquarters of the Prussian Army — 
have seen much of great interest, and especially have been able to 
observe the difference between the European battles and those of our 
own country. I have not found the difference very great, but that 
difference is to the credit of our own country. There is nothing to be 
learned here professionally, and it is a satisfaction to learn that such is 
the case. 

There is much, however, which Europeans could learn from us, 
— the use of rifle-pits — the use of cavalry, which they do not use well ; 
for instance, there is a line of communication from here to Germany 
exposed to the whole of the south of France, with scarcely a soldier on 
the whole line, and it has never been touched. There are a hundred 
things in which they are behind us. The stafl' departments are poorly 
organized; the quartermaster's department very wretched, etc., etc. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

P. H. Sheridan, Lientenaiit- General. 

p. S. — We go to-morrow with the headquarters of the King to 
a point about twenty miles from Paris. P. H. S. 

Letters received at Chicago from General Sheridan during this 
period, and while he was still at Prussian headquarters, stated that he 
had witnessed all the battles from the beginning of the war, and that 
he was present at the surrender of Napoleon. General Sheridan 
reported that the Prussian Army is well organized and equipped ; but 
he expressed a positive opinion that neither the French nor the Prus- 
sian soldiers are equal to our own in point of intelligence, skill, and 
arms. Sheridan was with Bismarck when the great statesman sprang 
from his carriage with a pistol in each hand and cleared the streets of 
the villao-e of Garge. He was also with him when he dismounted 
abreast of the carriage of the defeated Napoleon. Sheridan's descrip- 
tions of these events are very interesting and graphic. He says Bis- 
marck saluted the Emperor '' in a quick, brusque way which seemed to 
startle him." 

Sheridan accompanied the German armies to Paris, witnessing all 
the operations of the siege. General Forsyth is reported as saying that 
'' his tame had reached France in advance, where the people, from his 
vim and dash, had already likened him to and placed him on the same 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 3^^ 

high pedestal of fame as the great Corsican. When they saw him (for 
the general had a truly Napoleonic head) they nearly went wild with 
enthusiasm." It is quite safe to assert that the German Army had no 
closer or keener critic, nor was he in any way unobservant of the fine 
qualities of the French soldiers. He was reported at the time by a 
newspaper correspondent as expressing great admiration of the manner 
in which, under Gambetta's dictatorship at Tours, the French people 
and army showed their recuperative power. It is also recorded that 
he declared that in spite of the magnificent machinery and administra- 
tive perfection of the German Army, they would never know what real 
fighting was until they should meet in a popular war, American or 
British soldiers. General Butterfield recalls being in Italy with Gen- 
eral Sheridan after the Franco-Prussian War had closed its fateful prog- 
ress. He was full of life and animation, cheery with good humor, 
and interested Jiis companions with an endless variety of stories and 
incidents of camp and field, of march and fight. 

Returning after a year of travel, full of interest, professional and 
general, the lieutenant-general resumed command of his division, and 
once more occupied his attractive residence on Michigan Avenue. He 
was home but a few months when the great fire broke out which 
devastated and destroyed the larger part of the " City of the Lakes." 

The historic cow that upset the old Irish woman and her kerosene 
lamp caused the greatest conflagration of modern, if not, indeed, of 
ancient history, also. The terrible fire swept on its path of ruin, 
bringing not destruction to property and life alone, but demoralizing 
the entire people, and proving the incompetency of the civic authorities 
to fulfil reasonably any of the onerous duties that fell upon them. 

General Sheridan was appealed to, and not in vain. On the loth 
of October, 1S71, the Secretar}' of War, General John A. Rawlins, 
directed him, upon receipt of advices from the burning city, to use all 
his available troops as a guard and for the suppression of all disorder 
and ci-iminals. He also authorized, at General Sheridan's request, the 
issuing of 100,000 rations. This was done, says the order, " to help pro- 
tect what property is left and to try and get homes for the homeless." 
The lieutenant-general found it necessary to bring order out of the fiery 
chaos, and, to suppress the increasing hordes of scoundrels who wei-e 
drawn hither for purposes of plunder, to proclaim martial law. The 
fire was subdued by the 12th instant. The soldier patrols were making 
safe the blackened streets, and the terrified survivors were coming back 
to where their stores and. homes had once stood. The mavor issued an 



3:^6 THE LIFE OF 

Older to all persons against committing acts endangering life or property, 
and declaring that " with the help of God and General Sheridan I will 
preserve order at all hazards." By the general's orders 800 tents were 
issued to the homeless that evening. All the resources at the command 
of his headquarters were fully drawn upon, his chief quartermaster. 
General Rucker, meeting all possible requirements. He forwarded to 
the mayor the following letter : 

Headquarters of Military Division of the West, | 
Chicago, October i3th, 1S71. ) 
" To his Honor the JSIayor : 

The preservation of the peace and good order of this city having 
been entrusted to me by your Honor, I am happy to state that no case 
of outbreak or disorder has been reported. 

The people are calm and well disposed. The force at my com- 
mand is ample to maintain order. 

Still I would suggest that the citizens do not relax their vigilance 
until the smoldering fires are entirely extinguished. 

P. H. Sheridan, Lic2itenant- General. 

In every stage of the relief movements, as well as those for the main- 
tenance of order and to prevent the revival of the conflagration in any 
direction, General Sheridan was consulted. The mayor announced, for 
example, on the i6th of October, that, after advising with General 
Sheridan, all matters relating to the distribution of supplies would be 
turned over to the relief society which had already been formed. On the 
18th instant, through the Associated Press, General Sheridan appealed 
to the curious not to come to Chicago, simply to see. He said : 

" Thousands of this class are here now, without shelter or accom- 
modations, and they must be fed and cared for the same as the sutVcr- 
ers." 

There are many anecdotes characteristic of Sheridan told in relation 
to this period. One will be sulhcient to illustrate his direct modes of 
dealing. A certain hotel which had escaped the flames, was reported 
as charging exorbitant rates. Sheridan asked the price of board. The 
reply was $6.00 per day. " How much before the fire?" Tiie answer 
was $3.50. 

" All right," was the general's reply, " I'll run this hotel myself 
for $2.50 a day," and he at once put an ortlerly in charge, and kept it 
full till martial law was removed. 

Owing to a misunderstanding, Colonel Grcsvenor, United States 
Army, was, on the 26th of October, shot by the police. There was a 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 3^7 

great deal of ungrateful jealousy exhibited, which was fanned by a few 
lawyers and politicians like General Palmer, who saw the fabric of 
American liberty crumbling to pieces at their feet because, in response 
to a demand by the municipal authorities, the soldiery of the United 
States had, in a savage crisis, been used to maintain order, protect a 
homeless people, and to feed those who were suffering from hunger. 
Idle stories of a mischievous nature were set afoot. One of the current 
dailies tells the following after the fire and panic was over : 

A reporter thought that as there was no murder there was no fun 
or excitement. So one day during the fire, he determined to start 
something of the kind, and dispatched to New York : 

" Seven incendiaries have just been shot down in the act of kindling 
fires." 

Only seven, growled the public, there must be more than that ; the 
fire was a large one. The next day, he with his pen, hung Barney 
Aaron to a lamp-post and shot another fellow named Tracey. Next 
day a telegram was sent to General Sheridan asking him "if it would 
not be possible to put out the fire with gore? " 

Sheridan answered, " No disturbance of any kind here." 

" Ah," said this reporter, " Sheridan is so used to blood! This 
is nothing to him. To a man who swam his horse through it in the 
Shenandoah, a mere street full is nothing." 

This story is not a joke, but the truth, and the falsifying reporter is still 
a well-known correspondent. But the citizens of Chicago knew better. 
Sheridan's services in their behalf have been gratefully and substantially 
acknowledged. The Washington house in which he has resided since his 
transfer thereto in 1884, wds purchased for $44,000 by Chicago admir- ^ 
ers, who have also endowed "Little Phil, Jr.," with a valuable legacy 
in the shape of telephone stock, held for his benefit and in his name. 
General Sheridan liked Chicago as a residence. He took a decided 
interest there in social afiairs. It is the city of his marriage. He was 
an active member of several, and an honorary member of all the Chi- 
cago clubs, and interested himself in racing stock and fishing. He loved to 
watch a good race to the finish. A capital angler, he was, says a member 
of the Point Pelee Club, the only man who could fish all day without 
getting a bite and yet never complain. On his leaving Chicago a 
dinner was tendered him by the Commercial Club, at which one of 
its leading members, Mr. J. W. Doane, said : 

" Chicago can never forget General Sheridan. When the city was in 
flames, when men's hearts failed them, and ruin and desolation stared 



3^8 



THE LIFE OF 



lis in the face, all eves were turned to him whom we honor here this 
evening. It was his cool brain and prompt and ready courage that 
greatly helped to check the devouring fire. It is a matter of record 
that when everv moment was precious, without waiting to consult the 
authorities at Washington he took it upon himself to order troops and 
rations from neighboring cities, and thereby averted riot and bloodshed, 
and helped manv thousands of our people to survive the severest trials 
of the hour. So successful was he in this great crisis that the mayor 
publicly tendered to him the thanks of Chicago and its whole people. 
Nor was that all. In 1S74, when the city was threatened with a repe- 
tition of those calamities, General Sheridan again was largely instru- 
mental in saving our homes and fortunes from ruin and destruction. 
And once more, in 1877, when the Communist riots (so destructive in 
other places) threatened Chicago, the general, by making a rapid jour- 
ney of 1,000 miles, b}' appearing quickly upon the scene, and by his 
wise and decisive action, rescued us for the third time from what might 
have been a public misfortune of no ordinary kind. Believe me, gen- 
eral, a grateful people will embalm your memory in their innermost 
hearts. Representing as we do, in some degree, the commercial inter- 
ests of this great city, we feel that this is a most fitting occasion to 
acknowledge thus publicly and in the presence of your friends (whom 
we are proud to welcome here to-night), ^our constant loyalty to this, 
your chosen city, a lovalty which its citizens can never forget so long 
as Chicago holds her proud place among the chief cities of the Union." 

General Sheridan made his chief investment in Chicago, or in enter- 
prises recommended to him bv friends in that cit}'. The family still own 
his former residence on Michigan Avenue, and have other real estate, 
without considering the Washington home and belongings. 

While still in Chicago, his military career was marked with the 
beginning and close of the great struggle of the Sioux Nation against 
the progress of the whites in Dakota. It was also intensified by his 
visit, under orders from President Grant, to New Oideans in 1S75, where 
he remained for a short time. His presence was rendered necessary by 
the lawless actions of the White Leaguers, whose rebellious intentions 
against the existing state government \vould doubtless have been more 
determined but for the presence of the commander whom once before 
thev had learned to dread. His administration of the great division 
assigned to his command will be noted in the history of this countxy as 
the period in which the Indian problem came nearer to :i, final solution 
than at anv period of our historv. Its extent and character is not yet 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 3^9 

fully realized. In Dakota alone, from the early part of iS6i, hostilities 
prevailed until after the death of General Custer, on the Rosebud. 
During the four years of Civil War it took an army of 1 3,000 men to 
hold the territory against the implacable Avarfare carried on by the 
hostile Sioux, then comprising the major part of their tribes. General 
Shelly, a regular army officer and a vigorous Indian fighter, and Gene- 
ral Sibley, a volunteer, w^ho from having long been with the Sioux as a 
trader, understood them w^ell, were the commanding officers in those 
campaigns. The half-breed and other traders, sheltered under the 
British flag in what is now known as Manitoba, supplied the hostiles 
with excellent arms. As soon as the Civil War ceased the War 
Department turned its attention more closely to the Sioux troubles with 
the result that in 1S66 General S. R. Curtis and others were sent 
as commissioners to receive the surrender of Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, 
Rain-in-the-face, Big Thunder, and other chiefs, with their bands. 
The formidable Teton Sioux and their war chief. Sitting Bull, were not 
included in the negotiations which brought the peace that has since pre- 
vailed, except as to the Tetons. The progress of the Northern Pacific 
railroad and the discovery and development of the precious metals in 
the Black Hills region, rendered the presence of troops more neces- 
sary. From the date of his marriage, in 1874, for several years, Sheri- 
dan was kept busy watching Dakota affairs and arranging for the com- 
plete subjugation of the Sioux still remaining hostile. He visited 
annually the posts and camps included within his division. In 1S67-8, 
he was occupied closely with affairs on the Rio Grande, which at one 
time almost threatened a rupture of our friendly relations with Mexico, 

The lieutenant-general took, like his senior, General Sherman, a 
great interest in the higher j^ractical instruction of army officers, and in 
aiding the welfare and promotion of worthy soldiers from the rank 
and file. The officers' school at Fort Leavenworth was, to all practical 
intents, a conception of Sheridan's, and he never failed to keep a close 
watch over its efficiency and welfare. 

In 1883, General Sherman, who had passed the legal term of active 
service, was, at his own request, placed on the retired list. The lieuten- 
ant-general was summoned to Washington by President Arthur, to 
assume the duties of commanding-general. He remained there until^his 
removal, to Nonquit, during the first week in July of 1888. His time 
there was fully occupied by the army administration. Each year he 
inade his annual tour of inspection, and it was during his last trip in 
the early months of the year of his death that he so over-exerted him- 



36o GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 

self as to bring on the heart trouble to which, on the night of Sunday, 
August 5, 1888, he at last succumbed. 

General Sheridan was fond of visiting Chicago during the racing 
season. He sometimes acted as judge, and was president of the Wash- 
ington Park Club. He was always present on Derby day. His official 
inspection of the garrison at the Highwood, United States Post, near 
Chicago, was probably the last time that he was officially saluted by 
United States troops under review. It was on May 5th. 

While his fatal sickness was apparently at its height, and there then 
seemed but a very slight prospect of his living even the sad two months 
that followed, the Congress of the United States revived the active 
grade of general, and the President appointed him thereto, while the 
Senate immediately confirmed the nomination. This was on the ist of 
June, sixty-six days before his death. The bill was presented and 
passed the House, and was carried to the Senate, the President signing 
Sheridan's nomination, and commission also, before the Senate had 
acted on the bill sent them from the other branch. It was passed, 
signed, and the nomination confirmed before 3 p. m. of the day on which 
it was introduced. Shortly after. Senators Hawley and Manderson 
carried the commission to the bedside of General Sheridan, and very 
soon after its receipt he took the oath of office and issued the follow- 
ing general order — his first and last official act as General of the 
United States Army : 

General Order No. jy. 

Headquarters of the Army, 
Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, D. C, June i, 1888 

1. The following named officers are appointed aides-de-camp on 
the staff' of the Genei^al of the Army, with the rank of colonel, to date 
from this day : Major Michael V. Sheridan, assistant adjutant-general ; 
Captain Stanford C. Kellogg, Fifth Cavalry ; Captain Stanhope Blunt, 
ordnance department. 

2. In addition to his duties as aide-de-camp. Colonel Blunt will 
continue to perform the duty of inspector of rifle practice at headquar- 
ters of the army. 

By command of General Sheridan. 

R. C. Drvm, Adjutaftt-General {OJpcial). 
J. C. YiKJ^Toa, Assistant Adjutant- General. 



Chapter XXVIII. 



SHERIDAN'S HOME AND FAMILY LIFE. 

THE general's WASHINGTON RESIDENCE — MRS. SHERIDAN AND THE CHILDREN 

DOMESTIC CHARACTER OF HUSBAND AND FATHER — HOME INTERIORS 

PARLOR AND LIBRARY THE GENERAL's OFFICE IN THE WAR DEPARTMENT — 

HIS STAFF OFFICERS — INCIDENTS AND ASSOCIATIONS — HIS HEALTH — THE 
FATAL SICKNESS — NONqUIT — LIFE CLOSES AMID NATURe's BEAUTY. 

The quiet, loving domesticity of General Sheridan's home and 
inner life since his marriage at Chicago in 1874, has been a beautiful 
and striking contrast with the Titanic activity of that outer and active 
life upon which rests his world-wide fame. It is not for any stranger 
to seek to withdraw the veil of seclusion that fitly enshrouds every 
one's private and personal existence ; especially so while grief sits in 
majestic sorrow at the portals. But it will not be intrusive to draw 
together and present as a complete whole the facts known of men. 

A striking proof of the wholesome domesticity of the general's 
character is to be seen in the fact that it has required the affectionate 
interest everywhere aroused by the saddening incidents of his last sick- 
ness and lingering death, to draw out the charming pictures of home 
life which are now associated with the Sheridan family. Living as the 
general and Mrs. Sheridan have done, for the last five years of his life, 
in a city and community where privacy for the public man is almost 
unknown, it is certainly a tribute to the habits and wishes of General 
Sheridan that the charming interiors of his Washington residence have 
not heretofore been made the subject of published gossip and illustra- 
tion. General Sheridan was a lover of his home, a devoted husband, 
and a most affectionate father. He never delighted in "functions" 
like our other genial and lovable old warrior. General Sherman, but 
preferred retirement, the ease of home, the loving care of his wife, the 
prattle of his little ones, the quiet of his library, and the silent com- 
panionship of his books. 

The Washington house, costing about forty-four thousand dollars, 
was purchased for Sheridan by his Chicago admirers and friends. It 
is a fine residence, even in a city notable for such dwellings. 



362 



THE LIFE OF 



The Sheridan home is a roomy, picturesque, double house, on the 
corner of Rhode Ishuid Avenue and Seventeenth Street. It is directly 
opposite Representative Perry Belmont's residence, to which it presents 
an agreeable contrast. Mr. Belmont's dwelling is large and splendid, 
but it looks neglected. The turf is not well kept, wliile across the 
way the Sheridan terrace is clipped and watered until it looks like 
green velvet. The quick-growing ivy that covers nearly one side of the 
building is as well kept as the grass. 

The entrance opens into a wide, roomy hall, running the whole 
depth of the house, from which a broad, easy staircase leads to the 
upper floor. The hall floor has been devoted to the family and recep- 
tion rooms, the library and the dining-room. The usual sitting-room 
is a high-ceilinged, deep saloon, furnished in rich but quiet taste. The 
great bay window, deep, comfortable, and looking out on both avenue 
and street, was the favorite resort of Mrs. Sheridan and of all visitors 
to this delightful mansion. One featui-e of this room was a pretty little 
mahogany table, covered with a large cloth wrought with Indian bead 
work. It was sacred to the lares and pe7iates of the household, 
being covered with exquisite miniature portraits of Mrs. Sheridan and 
their four children. The room behind the family saloon, and separated 
trom it only by a heavy portiere., was used as the general's library. 
An attractive room it was, with a distinct individuality, telling of its 
famous occupant. The old red silk papered walls were well covered 
with portraits — paintings or photographs — of army friends. Sketches 
of many historic events, and many striking mementoes were found here. 
Half-way up the high walls, rows of handsome bookshelves held an 
excellently selected general libraiy, in which, however, works of refer- 
ence and standard military authorities predominated. Many maps 
hung upon a convenient stand, and a large globe showed the world's 
face to the occupant's eye. The large, broad window at the rear had 
before it the general's desk — a flat, rather small, mahogany library 
table, with drawers on one side. There was a big crystal inkstand 
upon, it. A heavy blotting pad, and usually, too, a thick tablet of 
heavy unruled white paper waited the convenience of the soldier owner. 
He used steel pens, and they always could be found in abundance in 
front of the inkstand. As a rule, at the right-hand corner of the desk 
could be seen a small collection of books, kept handy for such refer- 
ence as the thoughtful, well-weighted man of affairs who used to sit 
there, might at any moment require. 

Sheridan's library was crowded with curios. The mantel over the 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



565 




LATE RESIDENCE OF GENERAL SHERIDAN, 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 



deep, open fire-place, always blazing in winter with pine logs, was filled 
with them. The little meerschaum smoked brown by the cadet, was 
preserved by the general. His collection of swords is notable and 
historic. The one prized most highly by its owner went through all 
the campaigns. It is a short-service weapon, of which scabbard, blade, 
and hilt alike bear the marks of severe usage and narrow escapes from 
bullets whose dents are still seen. His spurs, and a little silver can- 
teen, pot-bellied, and of the size of a small tumbler, given him by an 
old army friend, occupied a prominent place. General Sheridan had 
a decided taste for numismatics, and owned quite a collection of old 
coins, of which he knew the history. There were his medals also, a 



364 THE LIFE OF 

notable collection. His commissions hung — each representing a vic- 
tory — all framed on the crowded walls. There were also busts and 
portraits of Grant, Sherman, Custer, and others. The most striking 
piece of sculpture ever made relating to General Sheridan is a statuette 
which represents him making that fiimous ride from Winchester. It 
is not more than a foot and a half high, but its every atom is full of 
life and action. General Sheridan gave it the place of honor on his 
parlor table. It represents him on his horse, hat in hand, as he waves 
it furiously above his head, while the horse gallops onward. This 
superb piece of plastic skill is the work of a }■ oung New York sculptor, 
Mr. Kelley, who is also one of the Harper's staff of artists. Mr. 
Kelley modeled the bas releivos also of the Centennial Monmouth 
battle-field monument, now at Monmouth, New Jersey. The Win- 
chester statuette is simply a piece of exquisite work. Sheridan's 
account of the famous horse he rode is interesting. The general said of 
" Rienzi," or" Winchester," as he was named after Buchanan Read 
immortalized him, that ** I got the horse when it was about three 
years old. It was a full-blooded Black Hawk, sixteen and one-half 
hands high, and I kept him for seventeen years. He was twenty years 
old when he died, in 1S7S, and I think the primary cause of his death 
was rheumatism and neuralgia. I took him with me to New Orleans, 
and lent him to one of mv statV officers. He brought him in one 
day, covered with foam, and I had a green stable boy, who turned the 
hose on him. I took good care of him. however, until he died. He 
was a remarkable horse, very tine looking, and a very quick walker. 
He was a present to me from Colonel Campbell, of the Second Michi- 
gan Cavahy. I rode him in the Mississippi campaign and then carried 
him to Kentuck\-. I rode him in the Kentucky and Tennessee cam- 
paigns, and when I was transferred to the Army of the Potomac I rode 
him in all the campaigns when I was in command of the cavalry. I 
rode him on that ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek, and he carried 
me through in a hurry. It was not twenty miles, however, but six- 
teen, and my own horse galloped nearl}' all the way. He was, I think, 
^- in about eighty-five battles, and he was hit three times. I remember 
at the battle of Chickamauga, that a shot passed under him and between 
his legs. He straddled himself and would not move, and 1 had to get 
off and get another horse." 

General Sheridan was always \ery fond of animals, and this home 
of his contained many finely mmmted specimens. A gorgeous wild 
turkev, from Sheridan's roost in Arizona, looked down from one of 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 365 

the ^valls of the dining-room, and tho antlers of a gigantic elk orna- 
mented the entrance hall. Upon the walls of the hall there was a tiger 
rug, almost as large as a bed quilt. It hung flat against the paper with 
its head downward, and is so mounted that it looks as though it might 
spring upon an advancing visitor. Beneath it was a magnificent Mex- 
ican saddle, which General Sheridan said took one man two vears to 
make, and at the let\ of this stood a grandfather's clock, which out of an 
old Dutch face ticked a solemn welcome to every incomer. 

Like Generals Logan and Grant, Sheridan delighted in collecting 
old arms. Among his collection are a number of costly pistols, manv 
of which have histories, and some of which were presented to him by 
his soldier friends. 

The office occupied by General Sheridan in the massive pile of 
which the War Department occupies the eastern side of its g-reat paral- 
lelogram, looks out on the east grounds of the White House and 
Pennsylvania Avenue, takes in the grav granite pillars and walls of the 
Treasury building, and gives a glimpse above them all of the Capitol's 
white and gleaming dome. It is tlie northeast corner room on the 
second floor of that great pile. Sheridan was fomul nearlv every dav 
in the year at his desk in the room set apart for use as army headquar- 
ters. The general's desk stood obliquely across the outermost corner, 
in such a position that as he sat behind it the light fell upon his back 
and upon the faces of all visitors to tlie room. Two large cases are 
filled with curious potter}-, Indian blankets, bows and arrows, head- 
gear, clubs and other articles collected in the Indian coimtn- before and 
since the War of the Rebellion. They stand at opposite sides of the 
apartment. Upon the walls are portraits of Generals Jackson, Worth, 
Zachary Taylor, Logan, Blair, Meade, and McPherson, and several 
spirited illustrations of Western hunting scenes. One picture repre- 
sents a herd of buflalo. It was General Sheridan's favorite habit to 
show this picture to childish visitors, and to delight them witli a hunt- 
ing story. He w^as a hard-working man. and always acted promptlv 
and methodically on all business before him. 

If any men know another witli whom the\- are most intimatelv 
associated, it should be the members of a military- stafl', especially under 
tlie exigencies of vigorous campaigning. Of the three gjeat soldiers of 
tire Union Army. Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, we know that the 
military- families of the first and last were drawn to their chiefs, not bv 
admiration and respect alone, but by a love and regard which could 
only be inspired by the tine as well as strong characteristics of tlie chiefs 



366 



THE LIFE OF 



to whom it was paiil. With Sheridan there is something more — there 
is deep, enduring fraternal feeHng which is unusual, even among sol- 
diers of the higher class. 

As a rule, an officer of rank may be judged by his stafl'. Sheridan's 
military family was composed of men trained as soldiers under his own 
eye. While inflexible in matters of duty, severity was mingled with a 
courtesy that greatly softened punishment, and no soldier ever felt that 
he had been '' snubbed " at General Sheridan's headquarters. Many 
will remember his assistant adjutant-general. Major George Lee, a gal- 
lant soldier and courteous gentleman, early stricken down with disease, 
an officer in Sheridan's confidence, and beloved by all. Then there was 
his brother, Colonel Michael V. Sheridan, as he will now be known in 
army records. There was Major Tom Moore, a great favorite of" Little 
Phil's," for whom he afterwards obtained a commission in the regular 
service. In war time, and during the earlier years thereafter, the gen- 
eral's constant companion was Brevet Brigadier-General James W. 
Forsyth, at the present time colonel of the Seventh United States 
Cavalry. 

Forsvth was the acting assistant inspector-general on Sheridan's 
staff'', but it was seldom they were seen in public apart. A newspaper 
writer recalls their appearance on Canal Street, New Orleans : the 
short, sturdy figure of Sheridan, buttoned up with military precision 
in the dress coat of a major-general — he only wore two stars then — in 
his hand a short cane of ivory, made from an elephant's tusk, on his 
head a cloth hat, with a stiff rim of sailor shape — the same one he wore 
when on that memorable ride. Beside Sheridan walked Forsyth, his 
straight, slight, soldierly form towering in its nearly six feet far above 
the broad shoulders of his chief. Forsytli wore a jaunty straight- 
visored forage cap and a cavalry jacket, which set oft' his form and 
seemed to add to his stature. He 'remained a member of Sheridan's 
staff' long after the war, and left him only when promotion called him 
to other fields. The soldiers were together not only at West Point, 
but in early service on the Pacific coast. When Sheridan was gazetted 
in May, iS6i, captain in the Thirteenth Infantry, of which William 
Tecumseh Sherman was made colonel, Forsyth was made a first lieu- 
tenant in the Eighteenth Infantry. Both were ordered East and came 
by sea to Panama, crossed the Isthmus, and thence by the regular steam- 
ship line to New York, reaching that city October 26, 1S61. Forsyth 
was sent to the field and Sheridan to St. Louis, where he chafed under 
administrative dutv for several months. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 367 

Another ex-staft' officer, Colonel Newhall, who served him as chief 
of staff in the closing days of the Rebellion, has written one of the most 
interesting war volumes on those memorable scenes. 

A staff officer's position in a volunteer army is not the best one for 
recognition and promotion, unless, indeed, the general with whom he 
serves is just in his dealings and careful to ensure reward to merit 
that he of all men can alone estimate at its proper value. Sheridan 
was always both prompt and just in this direction. 

General Sherman mentions some interesting points in the folloNv- 
ing: 

"I saw Sheridan for the last time about Christmas of 1SS7, in 
Washington. He was then apparently hale and hearty — the last man, 
one would think, who would succumb to illness, even of such severity 
as that which finally carried him away. I refrained from visiting him 
at Nonquit because I thought the excitement attendant upon receiving 
a call from an old comrade and talking over old times might prove too 
much for his strength. I look with the greatest possible interest for 
the publication of his memoirs. While Sheridan was at no time that 
I knew him what might be called a student, yet he wrote admirably. 
1 have many letters from him that are models for clearness and exact- 
ness of style. Because of this, I think his memoirs cannot fail to be 
interesting to an extreme degree. He always had such a fashion of 
going right to the point he was after and making it plain that I think 
he will carry the same characteristic into his literary work. With the 
publication the three leaders of the Federal armies will have had their 
say, and the historian of the future will, I think, find the story of the 
war truthfully set forth in them." 

The general wrote his autobiography during the past two years 
and a half, completing them in December, 1887. The manuscript was 
then revised and sent to the printers some time in the following May. 
This work was done in the library of the Washington residence. Its 
preparation was kept a close secret until his fatal sickness came on. 

General Sheridan was known by a great many persons in Washing- 
ton. He was seen a good deal on the streets and in the suburbs driving 
with his wife and children, and everybody knew and talked about his 
enjoyment of his home life. While he was constantly sought as a 
guest, it was not easy to draw him away from his home. He felt a 
great deal of diffidence before a large audience, and was even so in small 
gatherings, vniless he found that he was sure to escape lionizing. At a 
dinner of the Gridiron Club, when he sat down with the Washington 



^68 THE LIFE OF 

newspaper men and their guests, he "was not urged to speak, but he fell 
in with the unconventional spirit of the afler-dinner exercises, and 
delighted eveiybody by relating, in a most charming manner, several 
stories of his own experience. The plan of permitting him to have 
his own way worked so well that he seized an opportunity, after he had 
spoken and others had followed him, to get up again and beg to be 
allowed to add another incident that he had recalled and regarded as too 
good to keep. He had the reputation of being reticent to the press, 
but it seems to have been given to him by writers who had not known 
him long enough to learn that he needed to be very sure of a man's dis- 
cretion before becoming confidential with, or even communicative to 
him. 

President Cleveland had learned to know Sheridan well, and to 
have a strong admiration for him. The general was obliged, in the 
line of his official duty, to call occasionally at the Executive Mansion. 
Many have wondered at times who was the modest little man that came 
puffing into the ante-rooms, breathless with the effort of climbing two 
steep flights of stairs, took a back seat as if to wait, but who was 
speedily invited, before all the rest, to join the President in the library. 
Colonel Lamont noticed that the stair climbing was hard work for 
General Sheridan, and suggested to him once or twice that he could 
save himself a good deal of exertion by using the private elevators. 
Sheridan, however, made light of his shortness of breath, and attributed 
it to his growing weight and laziness. He was aware for some time 
that his health was not good, although he had seemed to be the picture 
of robust vigor up to the date of his prostration. When General 
Rosser, of Virginia, indiscreetly revived the story about the Shenandoah 
Valley fight. General Sheridan treated the letter humorously, and 
referred to the repoi'ts of the Valley Campaign as furnishing the only 
answer that he could give to what he spoke of as "a I'ather late resump- 
tion of the fight by General Rosser." Then he turned the conversation 
to other subjects, dwelling upon the pleasure he had enjoyed in his 
long rides through the Wind River country and the Yellowstone Park, 
and recalling some incidents of his trip through the park in 1883 with 
President Arthur. He admitted that he was never in such good health 
as when he was on the back of a good horse and in the open country. 
It was suggested that he appeared to be enjoying the most vigorous 
health. 

"Yes," he said ; " everybody tells me the same thing. But, do you 
know, it's a mistake. I'm a miserable dyspeptic. I have to be ex- 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 369 

tremely cautious about everything that I eat and drink, for I find that 
many things that I once enjoyed with absolute freedom now give me 
most painful distress — make me irritable and miserable and good for 
nothing." He spoke of his intention to make a radical change in his 
diet to see what the effect would be, but afterward laughingly admitted 
that he had never quite come to the point of making the change he had 
decided to be so important to his health. 

Colonel Herbert E. Hill, of Somerville, Massachusetts, who was 
with Sheridan in the Valley Campaign, and to whom the general sent 
interesting letters after the war relative to the rally and victory of 
Cedar Creek, contributes to the flood of reminiscence the following 
interesting incident : 

"As showing a little glimpse of Sheridan's kindly heart and the 
affectionate regard in which he held all who fought with him, let me 
tell a little anecdote. There now stands a memorial battery on Central 
Hill, Somerville, behind the identical breastwork which the revolution- 
ary army threw up 'on the night before the battle of Bunker Hill. 
There are four guns in the battery, and they are the ones which were 
sent by General Grant to Fort Standish in Plymouth Harbor. When 
this fort was discontinued these were returned to the Ordnance De- 
partment at Washington. They were just the ones I wanted to bring 
to Somerville, but other paities were after them, and I was not sure of 
getting them. In this dilemma I was sitting in General Sheridan's 
office, chatting, and finally broached the matter of these guns. There 
is a great deal of etiquette among the different departments at Wash- 
ington, and one does not like to interfere with another, as it mixes 
things all up. I knew this, and I knew that Sheridan had nothing to 
do with the Ordnance Department ; but I ventured to suggest the 
matter to him. He thought of it, and then explained to me the diffi- 
culty he was in. He, the General of the Army, did not wish to break 
over any rule of etiquette between departments, as it would at once 
create a dangerous precedent. ' I will do anything else for you,' said 
he, ' but I don't see how I can do this.' . 

" ' General,' said I, ' twenty years ago this month I remember help- 
ing you capture forty-eight guns from the enemy on the field of battle, 
one day ; now, am I not justified in time of peace to ask you to help me 
capture only four guns for memorial purposes? ' 

"Instantly a change came over his face; recollections of the hot 
fight at Winchester and the men who were with him then came over 
him, and, turning around in his chair, he pulled out an order, and 
24 



GEN. PHIL H. 5HERIDAN. 371 

before I left his office I had all the paper necessary to get those guns. 
I had touched the right cord, and he realized that but for the men who 
helped him twenty years before he would not then have l)een General 
of the United States Army, and in a position to help his old soldiers." 

General Sheridan's wife, Irene M. Rucker, is the daughter of Mrs. 
and General Daniel Henry Rucker, retired Qiiartermaster-General of 
the United States Army. She is indeed, a soldier's daughter, as well 
as a soldier's wife and widow. The Ruckers are a family of soldiers, 
her grandfather and two brothers, as well as her father and husband, 
being all distinguished officers of the American Army. General Rucker 
and his wife, Mrs. Sheridan's mother, now reside in Washington. 
He is a native of Belleville, New Jersey, entered the army from Mich- 
igan as lieutenant of dragoons in 1837, and served with distinction on 
the frontiers, in the Cherokee Nation, at Fort Leavenworth, and in 
Texas and Mexico. From 1853 to 1S55 he was stationed at Fort Union 
as depot quartermaster, and it was at this military post that Mrs. Sher- 
idan was born. 

The first three years of Mrs. Sheridan's infant life were passed at 
that frontier fort amid the alarms of Indian wars and the discomforts of 
garrison life. The following year was passed at Detroit, where her 
father was stationed. From that point he was transferred to Wash- 
ington. There Mrs. Sheridan passed several years of her early child- 
hood. 

Upon the outbreak of the war, her father having been assigned to 
duty in the field, she was placed with her younger sister Sara, who 
was born at Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Georgetown (now 
West Washington) Academy of the Visitation, and remained there until 
the close of the war. Her father having been ordered to Philadelphia 
for duty. Miss Rucker and her sister were placed at the .School of the 
Convent of the Sisters of the Holy Child, of that city. 

General Rucker, assigned to duty on the stafi' of (jeneral Sheridan 
at Chicago, went to that point with his family, but his daughters, Irene 
and Sara, returned to the school at Philadelphia, where they were 
graduated. The year of their leaving school, in June, 1874, witnessed 
the marriage of Miss Irene M. Rucker to the lieutenant-general. Mrs. 
Sheridan's father, quartermaster-general for several years, and now 
retired, resides in Washington with his two daughters. Miss Louise 
and Miss Sara Rucker. Miss Louise Rucker, the eldest daughter, was 
born at Fort Leavenworth and was educated at Detroit, where she lived 
with her grandmother while her father, when a lieutenant, was on 



372 THE. LIFE OF 

active duty on the frontier. Mrs. Sheridan's brother. Francis D. 
Rucker, is an officer ot" United States Cavahv. Another brother, Johi\ 
A. Rucker. an otlicer ot' the Sixth Cavahy, was drowned while rescu- 
ing Austin llenlv, ot" tlie same regiment, who also lost his lite in a 
flood near Camp Supply, Arizona, in 1S7S. 

The general and his wito iirst mot at a wedding in army circles. \\ here 
Miss Irene M. Rucker was one ot" the bridesmaids. Having decided, 
the general proved no laggard wooer, and the ladv, a daughter and sister 
of soldiers, cradled in all the romance, fei"vor, anil passion of loyalty 
and service, was not unwilling to be the bride, as their marriage proved, 
of the most dashing and picturesque leader the Civil War gave to the 
Nation. At the date ot' his marriage the lieutenant-general was thus 
described : 

Sheridan still looked as he ilid liuring the lighting — a soldier in every 
line of his sturdy, nervous, vitalizeil frame. His face was florid, his 
head compact and powerful in form. But the lines of his once spare, 
muscular frame, which in his valley campaign weighed but one hun- 
dred and thirty pounds, had now begun to fill and curve with adipose. 
He was not over-stout at the titue of his marriage ; but there was about 
him that sense of power which high responsibility gives. He had it in 
such degree that it lent dignity to a figure that without the sense ot 
intellect and character his presence conveyed woukl ha\ e been other- 
wise awkward even to grotesqueness. In hiiu there was mi>re than the 
mere tighter look. The head and face always wore an unmistakable 
expression of intellectual vigor. Sheridan looketl like a ruler of tuen ; 
like the luan who could, as he did. make a scatterroil army cohere into a 
victorious phalanx and throw it like an avalanche on a coiuing toe. 
He was less than five feet six inches in height, while the breadth of his 
shouUlers and the depth ot his chest were very great. His handsand feet 
were small. Hisface was uiuuistakably Irish in expression, was slightly 
oval in outline, well-knit, and marked in feature. The lower jaw was 
long and powert'ul, coming down on each side to a square, firm chin. 
The mouth draped by a mustache of moderate size, was a strong, straight, 
and rather mobile t'eature. The nose was one of the fighting sort, small 
at the root, wide at the nostrils, and slightly aquiline in form. The head 
was long, moderately high, quite broad, very compact, with good back 
head and base brain. The larger proportion was forward of the eais. 
Sheridan's eyes were among the best, if not the very best, features ot' his 
remarkable face. These were of that warm, gray hue, which softens 
with a wonderfid kindness, or flashes with a coi\suming fire. The fore- 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. ^73 

head was good, broad, not liiy;h, with tlie pcrccptivcs well-developed, 
and the eyebrows arched into the shape which is seen in antique scnlp- 
ture, but is so seldom visible in modern countenances. 

The marriage was conducted by Bishop b\)ley, of Detroit, whose 
brother acted at the general's funeral. Owing to the death, then recent, 
of Mr. John Sheridan, the marriage was entirely a private one. 

The children of this marriage are fom- : Mary, now in her eleventh 
year; "Little Phil, Jr.," a boy of four years, and two girls — twins — 
of six years old, named Irene and Louise. Miss Mary is slender, 
slight, dark eved, with golden-brown hair, and fine mobile features. 
The twins are a pair of lovelv children, so entirely alike as to be undis- 
tinguishable even to their grand-parents and aunts. 'Vhey are noted by 
some slight ditlerence of dress, but are always together, independent in 
yvays, and full of character for little ones. Philip was born in Wash- 
ington ; Mary and the twins in Chicago. Mrs. Sluridan is recognized 
as a prudent ami thoroughlv careful mother, overseeing all details ot 
their lives and caring for their education herself. The children all 
speak French as readily as their mother tongue. I'hey are great 
favorites with their child companions and playmates. In the matter of 
dress, the same modest simplicity which is so striking a detail of the 
Sheridan household always prevails. The children are carefully, even 
artistically clothed, Init laces, ribbons, sashes, silks, feathers, or elabor- 
ate wear of any kind are never seen on these little ones. 

Mrs. Sheridan, nineteen years younger than her distinguished hus- 
band, was known at the time of their marriage as the "pretty Miss 
Rucker." She is always referred to in Washington as the " lovely Mrs. 
Sheridan." Both remarks are singularly applicable, yet her character 
is granted by all atlmitted to her friendship to be as charming and sin- 
cere as her physique is lovely and attractive. Tlie womanly dignity 
and reticence, too, with which her grievous loss and the suflcring it 
caused, was borne, has endeared her to all. She is petite in stature and 
a brunette in complexion. Since her marriage and maternity her figure 
has filled and rounded, yet not disproportit)nately to her height. Frank 
G. Car])enter, a well-known Washingtonian, thus described Mrs. Sher- 
idan a short time before the generaTs death : 

" Straight, well rounded, and fine looking, her face might have been 
that of an ideal portrait. Its features are regular antl refined, and a 
great mass of dark brown hair is rolled up on the back of her shapely 
head. As wife of the General of the Army, she gives her regular 
receptions to the public, and she has on some days as many as three 



^74 THE LIFE OF 

hundred callers. Mrs. Sheridan is noted for her good sense. A friend 
of hers tells me that when she first came to Washington she was sur- 
prised at the silly remarks made by some women at receptions, and she 
decided that she would think before she spoke, and if she had nothing 
to say she would remain silent. She persevered, says this lady, in this 
determination, and she is one of our society ladies who always talks 
well. She is a good mother and a good wife, and she takes the greatest 
care in the education of her children. She and the general are 
wrapped up in their family, and the four little ones, the three girls and 
' Little Phil, Jr.,' who make up the family circle, are as bright, 
intelligent, and well-bred children as you will find at the capital. 
Mrs. Sheridan is one of the leading spirits in the charitable 
enterprises of the capital, and she is a devout Catholic." * 

General Sheridan used to tell with considerable gusto a story in 
connection with the arrangements for the wedding, which was, of course, 
a social event of importance. The newspapers were eager for all items 
and incidents in connection with it, and correspondents and artists 
were sent from all the great journals to Chicago. The engagement 
was announced several weeks beforehand. The general's bachelor 
establishment was in a large, comfortable, old-fashioned, two-storied 
dwelling on Michigan Avenue, which the family still own, and which, it 
is reported, will be their future home, as Mrs. Sheridan does not care 
for Washington. The general's storv illustrates the public curiosity at 
the time : 

" The newspapers, you know, had got everything but a description of 
my house. Of course they could easily get the outside of that, but they 
wanted to describe the inside. I refused to let the reporter in ; I wasn't 

going to have that d d old house put in the papers. It was good 

enough for me, but it wasn't fine enough for that. If it had been one 
of your swell houses I don't know as I'd have cared ; but I just made 
up my mind that that old shelter couldn't be described or sketched for 
the public. So, when a New York fellow came one day and asked me 
to let him make a picture of it, I told him, without any cei-emony, that 
it couldn't be done. My housekeeper was an old black woman, one of 
the old-aunty, faithful-to-death order of servants. I told her not to 
admit any one in my absence, and on no account to let any man enter 
the house except the workmen who were doing some plumbing. They 
were at work for several days, and the old woman knew them after the 

* Cosmopolitan, August, 1888. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. ^j<; 

first day. Well, I didn't see anything more of the New "\'ork man and 
soon forgot him. One day I went home and foimd the old woman 
crying and in great distress, scared, and nervous. 

" ' Fore de Lawd, gin'ral, Ise couldn't help it ; I thought he fixin' 
de pipes, and he done ketched pictures of all de rooms.' 

" The fellow had got in after all. He had borrowed a suit of 
plumber's clothes, concealed his sketching traps, and gone into the house. 
Of course the old woman had paid no further attention than to see his 
general appearance was that of one of the workmen. So he had gone 
up stairs, and w^hen she happened to go up later she saw him sitting in 
my room working away with his sketch-book. He made no apology, 
and no efforts to comfort her when she began to cry, but only laughed 
and said he had got all he wanted, and was much obliged. I don't 
think I was ever so mad in my life. However, I consoled the poor old 
woman by relieving her of all blame, and then sat down to devise a 
plan to circumvent the fellow. It was a mighty smart dodge, and I 
knew I'd have to be quick about it, or I'd be beaten. All at once my 
eye fell on a sword that had been presented to me by the Army of the 
Cumberland. It was a magnificent sword, and had had a large dia- 
mond in the hilt. That had disappeared some time before. I never 
knew how, but supposed it had been stolen. Well. I took out my 
pocket-knife and scratched up the gold around where the diamond had 
been, and made it look as if the thing had just been taken out. 

" ' Now, my young sketcher,' I said to myself, ' I'll see if I can't get 
ahead of you. If I don't outgeneral you, my name isn't Phil Sheri- 
dan.' 

" I went to the chief of police and told him the story of the reporter, 
and of the disappearance of the diamond. At the same time I let him 
into the secret, you know. Well, the detectives turned the city upside 
down in the search of the reporter disguised as a plumber who had un- 
doubtedly stolen the diamond. The detectives were honest enough, as 
they were not posted on the real facts. It was worked in such a way 
that had the reporter brought out his pictures the theft could be traced 
to him. No, the old frame house did not get into the papers, by a long 
shot. The fellow was spotted, as the name of the paper was given. 
I presume he got away from the city as quickly as he could, and was 
mighty glad to escape, too. About two years after I happened to meet 
one of the editors of the paper and he referred to the affair, and said : 
' Why, that man had been in our employ a long time. He was the last 
one to be suspected of taking a diamond or anything else that didn't 
belong to him.' 



376 THE LIFE OF 

•■' Then I explained why my old house wasn't in his paper. 1 told 
him it wasn't often that we got ahead of reporters. But I thought I 
had succeeded pretty well with that one." 

General Sheridan's last residence, and the one in which he died, 
will make historic the exquisite seaside summer village in which it 
stands. Nonquit stands on the shore of Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, 
seven miles below New Bedford, the once famous whaling port of the 
United States. It looks over that lovely summer sea, which is dotted 
by Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket islands, besides other smaller 
ones, and is sheltered somewhat from the eastei^ly wind by the sickle- 
shaped peninsula of Cape Cod. To reach it one passes by the entrance 
to the island-dotted waters and picturesque hilled shores of Narragansett 
Bay, at whose portals stands the historic Rhode Island, and whose shores 
are the famed Providence Plantations that Roger Williams founded. It 
is a region as lovely as any section of our Atlantic coast, and reminds 
one in petto of the beautiful St. Lawrence, and its Thousand Islands. 

The Sheridans purchased land at Nonquit in 1887, and the general 
at once ordered the construction of the handsome cottage residence 
which he was to inhabit only in a dying state ; to and from which he 
was borne dying and dead, surrounded by the loving watchfulness ot 
his family and the generous care of the Nation he served so well. The 
bereaved family still use it as a summer residence. 

The seaside hamlet of Nonquit is very small. But it is as socially 
select as it is lovely in its natural aspects. Doubtless the choice of 
this point as a summer residence was due to the fact that army and 
Chicago friends were both interested. The little village stands on a 
gentle slope almost entirely bare of trees, and is composed of cottages 
situated at short distances apart, and without fences to mark the divid- 
ing lines. Nonquit was founded something more than fifteen years ago 
by a syndicateof eastern capitalists who bought half a dozen large farms 
on Buzzard's Bay shore below Paden-Aran. They built a hotel and a 
number of cottages, and disposed of lots to well-known families for 
building purposes. The place has thus become a favorite and some- 
what exclusive social summer resort. R. Swain Gifford, the artist, 
has a charming home there, and Louisa M. Alcott, the author, was 
also a sojourner at Nonquit for several seasons. General Sheridan went 
there in the summer of 1887, rented a cottage, and took such a liking 
to the place that he decided to make it his summer home, so he built 
the handsome cottage to which he was carried in July, 18S8. It is 
roomy, very cheerful, and presents a pretty architectural effect. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



377 




CABIN OF THE UNITED STATES STEAMSHIP SWATARA, 

IN WHICH SHERIDAN. WAS REMOVED TO NONQUIT. 

Like Mount McGregor, where Grant died, Nonquit, before un- 
known, will become sadlv famous. It will always be recalled by the 
story of that fateful August 5th, when from the window of the east 
room in which he lay, Philip Henry Sheridan took that last long, lin- 
gering look over the summer sea that softly swelled before his eyes. 
Thie ocean has been by many poets treated as the emblem of Eternity. 
Unmastered by man, it flows on forever. Who can say what thoughts 
entered the brain of the dying hero, what pictures of the past and future 
were imprinted on the retina of his brain, as he gazed with wistful, 
absorbing, imaginative look for the last time on the lovely marine 
scene before him ? 

With such sad memories freighted, Nonquit has become famous. 
The old name '' Barekneed " has been preserved in a charming paint- 
ing by the famous marine artist, R. Swain Giftbrd, who has placed on 



378 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 



his canvas the romantic clitV near tlic Sheridan cottage, the neighbor- 
ing beach, and a wide expanse of the waters that make the picturesqne 
stretch of Bnz/.ard's Bay. This painting has been given the old name. 
The little Ivric here given was written at Xontjnit, and seems to have 
canght in its mnsical numbers the brooding calm and beauty of the 
scenes amid which our hero has gone to his eternal rest : 

'■ Soft is the swell of the musical sea. 

As ripple by ripple, and wave by wave, 
It rises and falls on the sandy lea, 

And the high, bold rocks its waters lave. 

'■ Nothing is heard but the rising tide, 

And the winds that sweep o'er the bay's rough breast ; 
The distant ships o'er the white foam glide 
And the nearer ones at anchor rest. 

" I'eaoetul and calm is the beautit"ul scene, 

This wave-washed spot on the sandy shore ; 
Myriads of ages shall intervene. 

And these waves will dash, as thev ilashcd of yore. 

"The nations will live out their fitful life; 
The swell of humanity rise and fall; 
(Oblivion brood o'er the world's wild strife; 
Empires emerge from their weary thrall. 

" But these waves of the bay will still roll on, * 
These rocks resist with detiant will ; 
A thousand years will have come and gone, 
But the sea shall ring out its brave notes still." 



Chapter XXIX. 



HIS DEATH-BED AND THE RETURN TO 
WASHINGTON. 

SAD SCENES AT NONQUIT — THE GENERAL's DEATH — GRrEK OF THE FAMILY — 
WHAT THE DOCTORS SAID — A SIMPLE MILITARY FUNERAL DECIDED UPON 
— SHERIDAN IN HIS CASKET — REMOVAL TO WASHINGTON — PASSAGE FROM 
NEW UEDKORD TO NEW YORK — THE VETERANS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA 
ROAD IN SILENT RESPECT ALONG THK ROllK ARRIVAL AT WASHINGTON. 

A LOVELY August (lay at Noiu|uit closed, ere midnight, in the pres- 
ence of life's mightiest tragedy — the death of a strong man in the high 
meridian of life, with the loved of his heart and home bewailing their 
terrible loss. That Sabbath — the llfth day of the month — was ex- 
quisite as it brooded peacefully over lovely Noiupiit. The breast of 
the summer sea was barely ruffled and rippled by the languid breath of 
the summer wind. In that pretty cottage to which so much of solicit- 
ous hope was turned, its famous inmate lay drowsily on his cot, in 
deadly weakness, at times looking from the great bay window east- 
ward over the unclouded waters. Yet there was hope that day. The 
chief consulting physician, Dr. Pepper, had lifted the Sheridan house- 
hold with his cheering diagnosis of the patient's condition. As the 
sun went down, the busy pens of the pressmen, and the liusy lingers 
of the telegrapher pressing his operating key, were telling all over the 
broad land that there was " hope for Sheridan yet." The slow step of 
the satldened wife and mother was a little lighter as it moved to and 
fro. The children, happily, almost unconscious, except the eldest girl, 
were allowed to play about the pleasant hotel. I'he black-robed sisters 
who had so carefuUv nursed the dying soldier, began to indulge in a 
little hope. Every one telt the eH'ect of Dr. Pepper's cheering examina- 
tion. And so the sun went down. The brief twilight of the New 
England coast passed into the soft ami fragrant darkness of its earlier 
nieht hours. 



38o THE LIFE OF 

There came a change as the evening closed. Klien, the general's 
faithful servant, who had been w^ith him for many years, entered the 
general's room, with his usual purpose of attending to the comfort of 
his chief before he himself retired for the night. No one had any 
serious fears, but rather the contrary. 

Mrs. Sheridan was attending the children on their retiring for the 
night, when Klien found the general breathing heavily. That stertorous 
sound was one of gi-ave danger. Doctors O'Reilly and Mathews, his 
faithful army comrades and surgeons, were notified. What they saw 
brought the gravest of anxiety. They felt the gates of death were 
opening wide. Everything was done and at once. Mrs. Sheridan was 
called. His brother — absent briefly at the hotel — was hastily notified 
by Klien. 

The soldier was nearing his end. The change occurred suddenly. 
When the heavy breathing was first heard, he was lying partially on 
one side, and the sister who had been in constant attendance did not 
notice anything wrong. It had been the practice of the physicians to 
frequently apply the fingers to the pulse, and Dr. O'Reilly usually did 
this. To his horror he now discovered great weakness and frequent 
intermissions. The first step taken was to administer ammonia. This 
stimulant was powerless to produce a change in the heart's action. 
Digitalis was then injected hypodermically. Still the life current 
coursing through the artery at the wrist remained weak. Then it grew 
weaker and weaker. Sinapis was applied to the chest and limbs, and. 
finally the galvanic battery was brought out and a current steadily 
increasing in strength was directed along the spine and through the 
chest of the now nearly unconscious form of the general. 

The end was near, but it was peaceful. There was but little physical 
sufliering, apparently, until within the last few minutes. Mrs. Sheridan 
was not greatly alarmed, and she expected a reaction from the syncope. 
Qiiietly, like a child going to slumber, the gallant soldier fell into the 
long sleep. The great heart ceased to beat, and Philip Henry Sheridan 
was dead. The little children were slumbering in their beds. Only 
the wife and mother with one of the sisters was present, besides the 
physicians. The scene at the bedside was impressive, but free from 
striking incidents. During the first part of the attack General Sheridan 
did not realize his condition. But he became aware of the impending 
doom before his wife appreciated the danger. He spoke of his childien 
once in faint tones, and his manner impressed Mrs. Sheridan for the 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. ^8i 

first time with the fact that her husband was dying. Several family 
matters were referred to, and he spoke the name of his son. '•'■ Little 
Phil ! " the dying hero whispered, " Little Phil ! " He continued to 
grow weaker, the pulse-beats seemed almost to cease. Suddenly open- 
ing his eyes for a moment, he seemed to gather into his vision all the 
faces about him, and gazing intently into the agonized one of his wife 
for the last time, a sweet smile wreathed his pallid countenance. The 
comrade doctors knelt in reverence with Sister Justicia, and while the 
wife held the hand, joined in prayer, the brave man peacefully closed 
his eyes as if going to slumber. It was the end. 

The " tick," '' tick " of the telegrapher's key announced the close 
of the newspaper's death-watch in these brief words: "General 
Sheridan died to-night of heart disease." 

The death occurred exactly at 10.30 p. m., on the 5th of August, 
1888. 

Mrs. Sheridan fell fainting to the floor when she realized that her 
husband and her hero had gone forever from her presence. Almost 
crazed with grief, she was taken to her room. The messages of sym- 
pathy and condolence which at once began to pour in upon the retired 
nook where this saddest, but common human tragedy, was being 
enacted, it was decided should be withheld from her while the wound 
was gaping. 

The night passed and the dawn, as if in tears, arose in a robe of 
gray, dark mist. It covered water and land, and hid the garish sun 
from the dwellers in the house of mourning. The children, who had 
retired before the last scene, had not been called. Indeed, the end 
came too sudden for that. The scene in the morning was a sad one. 
Mary realized the actualities of the situation in a keener degree than 
her sisters, the twins, Irene and Louise. All were extremely fond of 
their father, and he petted and played with them, as well as with little 
Phil, who was his heart's delight. The griet of these little ones was 
pitiable. They wept as if their hearts would break. Mary sobbed by 
herself in a chair, little Irene flung herself on a rug and cried aloud, 
her sister Louise doing likewise, and little " Phil " wept in sympathy, not 
actually understanding what it was all about. The governess endeav- 
ored to assuage their grief, and finally dried their eyes. Mrs. Sheridan, 
completely exhausted, and now suffering the reaction from the strain of 
the anxious weeks just past, remained in her chamber. It was decided 
advisable to refrain from consulting her regarding the funeral arrange- 



382 THE LIFE OF 

ments until the afternoon. The meals of the family were taken down 
to the cottage from the hotel by the servants. 

The appearance of the body as it lay in that front room was sadly 
impressive. A white pall covered it. and when the upper portion was 
drawn away it disclosed the face and the broad chest. The latter was 
covered only by a gauze shirt. But slight emaciation was distin- 
guishable, save in the arms and legs; the face was sunken a little in 
the cheeks, but the broad chin and the Hrm lips retained the normal 
characteristics in death. The chin was clean shaven, and the iron- 
gray hair was brushed back from the broad, massive brow. 

The dav was occupied fully, however sadlv, with preparations for 
the interment, and in the receipt of the numerous messages which came 
pouring in from all quarters. The news of this death showed how 
closelv the people held the memory of the heroes who,. like Sheridan, 
had so powerfully aided in saving the Nation. Airs. Sheridan was left 
undisturbed in the physical prostration that had so inevitably followed 
the months of sorrow and tender watchfulness. The embalmer came 
and performed his work. The hero's liody was placed in its casket, 
rich, though simple in its belongings. General Sheriilan had always 
expressed liimself as opposed to funeral pageants, and he had signified 
a wish as to the resting-place of his body. When he commanded the 
escort at John A. Logan's funeral, and laid his comrade to rest in 
Arlington, he expressed his desire to be buried there also. He was a 
soldier. So he had lived and wrought ; so he had died : and so he 
would lie — attended by soldiers, and buried among his dead comrades. 
The regulations of the army he commanded provide for the escort 
honors to be paid to one of his rank. The burial services of his church 
are stately enougli for any man, however renowned ; for any life, how- 
ever lo\^■ly. 

The tributes paid to the man as well as soldier lying dead at 
Nonquit were of the most remarkable character. None of them were 
merely ceremonial — even those that etiquette required also bore in the 
formal word the touch of a tear or the faint sound of a sob. As if at 
a sudden word, but by common impulse and with one feeling of grief, 
the flag floated everywhere at half mast. Nonquit is but a little sea- 
side hamlet, whose owners jealously guard their domain from intru- 
sion by the sight-seeing horde. Their action in this regard proved 
useful during the days which give to the place a sad page in American 
history. J^even miles from New Bedford, without railroad communi- 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 383 

cation, and having but one little wheezy steamboat to ply to and fro, 
there was no pressure from the outside world. 

As the senior physician and surgeon in charge, Major O'Reilly's 
certificate as to the cause of death is part of this narrative. It reads 
as follows : 

General Sheridan died at 10.20 this evening. The immediate cause 
of his death was heart failure. The remote cause was disease of the 
mitral and aortic valves, the existence of which was known to his phy- 
sicians, to himself, and to his family, in November of last year. The 
complications which have occurred have been nervous exhaustion, pul- 
monary anasarctions, pneumonia, pulmonary «geria, anasarca, and 
hemorrhages. The last day of his life was somewhat restless, but not 
more so than he has been several times since his arrival at Nonquit. 
At about 9.30 symptoms of heart failure suddenly appeared. The 
remedies which had hitherto been successful were vigorously applied, 
but proved ineffectual, and he sank rapidly, dying painlessly at the hour 
named. 

Robert M. O'Reilly, 
Surgeon Utiited States Army. 
Washington Mathews, 

As.sistant Surgeon United States. Army. 

There can be no doubt that the immediate cause of death was the 
failure of the heart to act. If it were possible to reach the remote 
cause of that fatal weakening, first of the valves of the heart, and then 
of the walls also, in so strong and robust a man as Sheridan, it may 
well be conceived that it was the result of some one of those magnifi- 
cent strains of his heroic nature, the results of which have made his 
name so memorable among a patriot soldiery, and so great in the esti- 
mation of those who esteem military genius and renown. Perhaps, at 
Winchester and up the valley, when he rode " to save the day," the 
fierce heart throbs tore all the strong valves, and gave the first blow 
which finally in the long series of activities that followed, left him cold 
and lifeless at Nonquit. 

Dr. Pepper gave to the public press, after the general's death, his 
professional opinion of the case and its treatment. He said : 

"At the time of the early attacks the heart failure was so intense 
that the walls of the heart contracted very imperfectly and the cavities 
became rapidly and greatly dilated. This was much increased by the 
mechanical obstruction due to the organic disease of the valves of the 



384 THE LIFE OF 

heart, which liad existed for iiiany montlis. In this state some heait- 
clot must have formed, and for some time very ahirming attacks re- 
curred unexpectedly, apparently due to the sudden detachment of por- 
tions of clot which were carried from the right side of the lieart into 
the lungs. The most alarming spell was connected with the deyelop- 
ment of an extensive infraction in the lower lobe of the right lung, 
followed by tlie development of aneurisms around it. For weeks this 
was a constant source of anxiety, but gradually it cleared away, the 
heart gained power, its cavities contracted better, and the spells above 
mentioned grew less frequent and less serious. 

" When the heart trouble was at its worst grave symptoms of con- 
gestion showed themselves everywhere. The brain sufl'ered, the liver 
and stomach were so much engorged that hemorrhages occiuTed and 
were almost fatal. From the shock the kidneys also suflered, as was 
shown by a scanty albuminous urine and swelling of the feet. But as 
the heart slowly improved all these complications subsided. This was 
veiy gratifying, and justified the hope that gradually there would be a 
return to better health if no untoward complications should occur again. 
But inevitably a patient with extensive organic disease of the heart (as 
in all probability existed here) , with fragments of heart-clot adhering 
to the lining, is continually in danger of fiital heart failure, and of 
sudden detachments of fragments of such size that if carried to' the 
lungs almost immediately fatal results will follow'. On Sunday even- 
ing, at a time when all the general's symptoms were more encouraging 
than at any previous period, the above occurred with such severity as 
to make all etlbrts to sustain the heart and lungs unavailing." 

While the body of their sacred dead was being arranged in the 
villa by the sea for its final interment, everywhere, ofHcially and 
personally, the Nation, the states, the men of the war, the citizens who 
honored and the friends who loved him, were sending their tokens of 
sympathy and their proflers of service, in behalf of his memory and to 
the family Sheridan has left, for they all remembered that he had said 
'' Every service I ever performed for my coimtry was due to her 
from me, and if I have contributed in my himible way to her success 
and glory, I am proud of it." 

Among the first of these tokens came the personal words of Presi- 
dent Cleveland, who immediately on receipt of the news of the gen- 
eral's death, sent to Mrs. Sheridan the following telegram : 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERID.AN. 



J8? 




THE SHERIDAN COTTAGE AT NONQUIT, 

WHERE THE GENERAL DIED. AUGUST 5, 1888. 



Executive Mansion, | 

Washington, August 6, iSSS. | 
While the Nation mourns its loss and shares your sorrow, let me 
express to you my personal grief and most sincere condolence. 

Grover Cleveland. 

When Congress mot at noon of the 6th, the following message was 
received : 

To THE Senate and House of Representatives: 

It becomes my painful duty to announce to the Congress and to 
the people of the United States the death of Philip Sheridan, General 
of the Army, which occurred at a late hour last night at his summer 
home in the State of Massachusetts. 

The death of this valiant soldier and patriotic son of the Republic, 
though his long illness has been regarded with anxietv, has, nevertheless, 
shocked the country and caused universal grief. 

He had established for himself a strong hold in the hearts of his 
countrvmen, who soon caught the true meaning and purpose of his 
soldierly devotion and heroic temper. His intrepid courage, his stead- 
fast patriotism, and the generosity of his nature inspired with peculiar 
warmth the admiration of all the people. 

35 



386 



THE LIFE OF 



Above his grave, aflection for the man and pride in his achieve- 
ments will struggle for mastery, and too much honor cannot be accorded 
to one who was so richly endowed with all the qualities which make 
his death a national loss. 

Grover Cleveland. 
Executive Mansion, Washington, August 6, 1888. 

The Secretary of War sent his condolence in the following dispatch : 

Washington, August 6, 1888. 
Dear Mrs. Sheridan : It was the most painful surprise to hear 
of General Sheridan's death. Accept my heartfelt sympathy in your 
overwhelming sorrow. The Nation mourns with you a great and 
noble soldier, and while I feel deeply his loss to the service and the 
department, yet at this moment the personal bereavement is first in my 
thoughts as I recall his valuable friendship and the many delightful 
memories I shall ever associate with him. 

W. E. Endicott, Secretary of War. 

By order of the department, as usual, "the flags will be placed at 
half mast at all military posts and stations, seventeen minute guns will 
be fired on the day after the receipt of this order, and the usual badge 
of mourning will be worn for thirty days." 

The senior major-general of the army, commanding the Division 
of the Atlantic, received the order to take charge of the burial of his 

comrade, as follows : 

War Department, ") 

Washington, August 6, 1888. j 
General J. M. Schofield, 

Governor's Island, New York Harbor. 

The following dispatch received from Colonel Sheridan this morn- 
ing : 

"NoNqiiiT, Mass., August 6, 1888. 

" Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 

"It is Mrs. Sheridan's wish that her husband should be buried with 
military honors, and that at the same time there should be no display- 
beyond what pertains to a strictly military funeral in proper respect to 
his rank. Will you be kind enough to authorize such funeral and 
place matters under charge of General Schofield } The funeral will 
be in Washington, but when and where I cannot yet say. Perhaps it 
would be well for General Schofield to come up here. 

"M. V. Sheridan." 

I leave it to your discretion whether to go to Nonquit, as requested. 
You are hereby directed to make the necessary arrangements in regard 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. ^87 

to the funeral, including the funeral train to bear the body to Washing- 
ton. By request of Mrs. Sheridan, her husband will be "buried with 
military honors, with no display beyond what pertains to a strictly 
military funeral in proper respect to his rank." This request will be 
strictly complied with and the escort wnll conform to regulation 631, 
funeral escort to general-in-chief, and you will issue orders for such 
troops to assemble as may be necessary to complete this escort. You 
will detail the necessary guard antl bearers to go to Nonquit and 
accompany the remains to Washington. Please ascertain from Mrs. 
Sheridan whom she wishes to be designated in orders as pall-bearers. 
Please inform me from time to time in regard to arrangements. The 
place of burial and day of funeral still undecided. Your dispatch to 
adjutant-general of this morning received. 

William C. Endicott, Secretary of War. 

The funeral escort, under regulation 631, is a regiment of infantry, 
a battalion of cavalry, and two light batteries. Mrs. Sheridan in her 
decision necessarily excluded all participation in the actual pageant of 
the many societies and bodies that were ready, even eager, by their 
active presence to do such honor as they coidd to their well-beloved 
comrade. Her decision, however, met general approval. 

Congress at once acted in sympathy with the general feeling of sor- 
row^, by adjourning on the 6th instant in token of respect, after passing 
the resolutions here given : 

In the Senate Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, offered these resolutions : 

Resolved^ That the Senate has learned with profound regret of the 
death of Philip H. Sheridan, late General of the Armies of the United 
States. 

Resolved^ That the Senate hereby expresses its grateful sense of 
his great and patriotic services in the cause of his country, its deep 
sensibility of the loss which the Nation has sustained in his death, and 
its sympathy with his family in their bereavement. 

Resolved^ That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the 
family of the deceased. 

Mr. Edmunds said : "It is quite imnecessary for any Senator to 
submit any obsei"vation in support of these resolutions. The career of 
General Sheridan has been so conspicuous, so grand, so noble, and so 
patriotic that any words which I could use in respect of his memory, 
or in praise of his career, would be like gilding refined gold, or paint- 
ing the lily. I therefore, for my part, leave them to the judgment of the 
Senate without any further observation." 



3 88 



THE LIFE OF 



The resolutions were adopted unanimously. Subsequently a bill 
was introduced by Mr. Farwell, of Illinois, and referred to the Commit- 
tee on Pensions, granting a pension of $5,000 a year to Mrs. Sheridan. 
This bill has been so modified in the House of Representatives as to 
make the sum $3,^00. In that form it will doubtless become a law. 

The President's message announcing the death of General Sheridan 
having been presented and read, Mr. Hawley, of Connecticut, rose and 
said : 

"Nothing that I could say, Mr. President, is needed to set forth the 
loss which the country has sustained by the death of the able, brilliant, 
magnificent soldier and beloved general, Philip H. Sheridan. I have 
just learned of the course taken by the House, and I now send to the 
desk a resolution for which I ask immediate consideration : 

'■^Resolved, That the Chair is requested to appoint a committee of 
seven Senators to attend the funeral sei-vices of the late General Sher- 
idan." 

The resolution was adopted, and Senators Hawley, Connecticut, 
Manderson, Nebraska, Cullom, Illinois, Stewart, Nevada, Hampton, 
South Carolina, Gibson, Louisiana, and Gray, Delaware, were ap- 
pointed. The Senate at 1.55, adjourned. 

The session of the House was opened with prayer by the Rev. W. 
H. Milburn, d. D.,the chaplain. His reference to General Sheridan's 
death was as follows : 

O Eternal God, with the Nation we stand awestrlcken to-day by 
the startling intelligence that the illustrious career of the General of the 
Army is ended. The brilliant story of his achievements is written in 
the annals of the country, and he has gone to the bar of history. We 
commend to Thy Almighty protection and fatherhood the wife who has 
been widowed and the children who have been made fatherless. 

A message from the President having been received announcing 
the death of General Philip H. Sheridan, Mr. Wheeler, of Alabama, 
said that this was the third time in the history of the government that 
the President had announced the death of the commander of the armies 
of the United States. He had prepared resolutions appropriate to the 
occasion, but he was informed that the Military Committee had agreed 
to a series of resolutions, and he would therefore refrain from offering 
his. 

Representative Hooker, of Mississippi, offered these resolutions : 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 389 

Resolved^ That this House has learned with profound grief of the 
death of General Philip Henry Sheridan, General commanding of the 
armies of the United States. 

Resolved^ That as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, 
this House do now adjourn. 

Resolved^ That the Speaker of the House is directed to transmit to 
the widow of the deceased a copy of these resolutions and the assur- 
ance of the sympathy of the House in the loss which she has sustained 
in common with the people of the Nation. 

Resolved^ That the Speaker of this House appoint a committee of 
seven members to confer with a like committee of the Senate, and, 
after consultation with the family of the deceased, to take such action 
as may be appropriate in regard to the public obsequies of General 
Sheridan. 

Mr. Hooker, of Mississippi, himself an ex-Confederate soldier, briefly 
addressed the House in eulogy of the deceased soldier. Descended 
from a race of people which had given to the world in the old country 
and in the new the greatest commanders of any people on earth, the 
career of the distinguished military man whom these resolutions were 
designed to honor was a mark of the singular fact that " in this coun- 
try there was no position, whether in civil or in military life, that was 
not within the reach of the humblest citizen of the land. 

" General Sheridan inherited from his father the fire and the spirit 
of that great Irish race that has so successfully fought the battles of all 
countries save its own. At an early day General Sheridan graduated 
from the military academy, and was assigned to duty in the army. He 
obtained prominence in the late contest between the states which gave him 
a position second only to that of the great leader of the Federal Army. 
This Congress had, a few weeks before his death, conferred on General 
Sheridan the distinguished position of General of the Armies of the 
United States. It had been held by few persons, and was considered a 
mark of honor and regard for General Sheridan ^vhen he yet lay on 
his bed of sickness, which finally became his couch of death. The 
resolutions were designed to express the universal grief and sorrow of 
the Nation at the death of the commander of the armies of the United 
States and to express sympathy with his bereaved family." 

The governor of Ohio, in which state the general claimed citizen- 
ship, issued this proclamation : 



390 THE LIFE OF 

To THK People of Ohio : 

General Philip H. Sheridan is dead. He departed this life yes- 
terday at Nonquit, Massachusetts. He was a citizen of Ohio, but his 
name and fame belong among the richest treasures of the Nation. 
Next after Grant and Sherman he was the most illustrious general of 
the war for the suppression of the rebellion. His name was the 
synonym of gallantry. He was the ideal field marshal. He led only 
to victory. So long as the Union shall endure and human liberty be 
cherished he will hold an affectionate place in the hearts of his coun- 
trymen. As a slight appreciation for his heroic services, the flags on 
all civil and pviblic buildings of the state will be displayed at half-mast 
until and including the day of the funeral. 

Fi-om nearly all the state executives came some form of public 
sorrow and sympathv. General Rea, Commander-in-Chief of the 
Grand Army of the Republic, in General Order No. ii, issued August 
9th, paid a fitting and eloquent tribute to the life and services of 
General Sheridan. The order says that during the year, 4,123 Grand 
Army of the Republic comrades have died, among whom Sheridan 
stands most conspicuous. The colors at the national and department 
headquarters were ordered to be draped, and the customary badge ot 
mourning to be worn for thirty days. 

The Loyal Legion, of which Sheridan w as commander, paid its 
tribute ; and the Massachusetts Conmiandery, as did the state, asked to 
be allowed to appoint a guard of honor. This was supplied under 
orders from the War Department In' a detail of two line and eight non- 
commissioned officers from Fort Adams, who left Newport on the 8th 
instant for Nonquit. This detail, serving as a ^uai'd of honor until the 
body reached Washington, consisted of Captain H. B. Anderson, in 
command ; Lieutenant McCahn, Sergeants Greenhault, Company L, 
^Vayland Light Battery ; Buchanan, Company D ; Corporals Blake, 
light battery ; Hill, Company G ; Beraske, Comixuiy E ; Day and 
Halpen, of forf battery. 

The Secretary of the Navy sent his expressions of sympathy and 
the offer of a naval escort, in this dispatch : 

I must express to you my great personal regret and sorrow, and 
that of the whole naval service, at the death of General Sheridan. It is 
the desire of this department to participate in all ceremonies which 
may. take place in recognition of his great services to his country, and 
to mark the high esteem in which such services are held by his coun- 
trymen. The President directs me to place at yoin- service an escort 
of naval vessels if your plans should contemplate returning by water. 



, GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. ^^91 

The death of their gallant commander was announced to the sol- 
diers of the United States Armv in the following general order, issued 
the next day : 

''War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, ) 
"■ Washington, August 6, i88S. j 

" With profound sorrow the Secretary of War announces to the army 
that General vSheridan died last evening at Nonquit, in the State of 
Massachusetts. 

" He was born March 6, 1831. Upon graduating from West Point 
he entered the army July i, 1853, as brevet second lieutenant of the 
First Infantry. His first service was on the frontier of Texas ; then in 
Oregon and California, engaged against hostile Indians in the Yakima 
expedition and the defense of the Cascades. In 1861, having reached 
the grade of captain in the Thirteenth Infantry, he was placed on duty 
as chief quartermaster and commissary of the army under Major-Gen- 
eral Curtis in the Pea Ridge Campaign, and subsequently as quarter- 
master at Major-General Halleck's headquarters in the advance on 
Corinth, Mississippi. He was appointed colonel of the Second Mich- 
igan Cavalry, May 25, 1862; brigadier-general of volunteers July i, 
and major-general of volunteers December 31, of the same year, having 
participated with distinction in numerous engagements in the armies 
of the Ohio and Cumberland until April 4, 1S64, when he was selected 
to command the cavalrv corps of the Army of the Potomac, and sub- 
sequently the Middle Militarv Di\ision and the Army of the Shenan- 
doah. 

" For the gallantry, militaiy skill and courage displaved In the 
brilliant series of victories achieved by his army in the Valley of the 
Shenandoah, especiallv at Cedar Run, he received the thanks of Con- 
gress and was appointed brigadier-general of the Army of the United 
States, September 20, 1864, and November 8, 1864, was promoted to 
major-general United States Army ' for the personal gallantry, mili- 
tary skill, and just confidence in the courage and patriotism of his 
troops displayed by him on the nineteenth day of October, at Cedar 
Run, whereby, under the blessing of Providence, his routed army was 
reorganized, a gi^eat national disaster averted, and a brilliant victory 
achieved over the rebels, for the third time, in pitcheil battle, within 
thirty days.' 

" In the final campaign, which resulted in tlie surrender of General 
Lee's army, he bore a distinguished part. 



392 THE LIFE OF 

" Since the close of the war he commanded successively the Military 
Division of the Southwest, the Gulf, the Fifth Military District, the 
Department of the Missouri and the Division of the Alissouri. He 
was appointed lieutenant-general March 4, 1S69, and assumed command 
of the Armv of the United States, November i, 1SS3. In recognition 
of his militarv services the grade of general was revived by Congress, 
to .which he was appointed June i, iSSS. These achievements placed 
him in the front rank of the great ami successful soldiers of his time, 
and are recognized and acknowledged at home and abroad. To the 
armv his loss is personal and irreparable, but the work that he did 
and the associations that cluster about his name will be a grateful 
niemorv to its older, and an inspiration to its vounger ot^cers/* 

The morning of the Sth brought to completeness the preparations for 
removal to Washington. The soldier lay in his white lined, black 
covered casket, with its heavy plate and handles of silver. Its only 
inscription was this : 

Philip Henry Sheridan, 

General United States Army, 

Born March 6, 1S31. Died August 5, 1S88. 

The room in which the bodv lav was kept fresh and cool. The 
jalousies were but partiallv closed. A simple vase of flowers, the only 
decoration, perfumed the air. That portion of the lid of the coflin 
over the head and chest of the silent hero was laid back so as to dis- 
close the face and upper part of the body. Upon it lay the chapeau, 
sword, belt, and sash worn bv the deceased officer as a lieutenant-gen- 
eral on state occasions. The uniform in wliich the bodv was clad Avas 
that of the grade from which he was promoted during his illness. But 
the epaulets carried the insignia of his latest rank — the golden shield 
of state flanked on either side by a large golden star. On the white 
metal scabbard of the sword were engraved the names of the many 
battles in which Sheridan had taken part. They began at a point im- 
mediately below the hilt of the weapon and ended only at the ej:treme 
lower end. Thev were one above the other, close together, forty or 
more in all. 

The appearance of the face was striking. There was almost a 
smile upon the lips. The whole aspect was one of serene repose, A 
sharp contrast was presented bv the grizzled hair upon the head, the 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 39^ 

black bushy eyebrows, and the silvery hue of the mustache and small 
imperial. The entire mask was one never to be forgotten by those 
w^ho looked upon it. Only one hand was in sight. It lay across the 
breast, and between the partially closed fingers was held a curiously 
carved crucifix of yellow^ ivory. 

The morning broke clear and bright. A light northeast wind ren- 
dered the air cool and bracing. The cottage was outw'ardly as silent 
as a tomb. Colonel Michael V. Sheridan, with bowed head and sor- 
rowful demeanor, was to be seen at times on the verandas. Colonel 
Blunt and Captain S. C. Kellogg, of the general's staft', passed in and 
out. The day dragged slowly. In the afternoon the steamer JMono- 
hansett appeared in sight around the high casemented fort at Clark's 
Point, headed toward Nonquit landing. At half-past 4 o'clock the 
Alotio/iansett was at the landing. There was a peculiar significance 
attached to the selection of this steamboat to convey the body of Sher- 
idan to New^ Bedford. She was employed in the government service 
during the Civil War. and was used by General Grant as his dispatch 
boat. Captain Smith, who commanded her that da}', w'as her com- 
mander on the James River. 

A guard of honor composed of members of the Loyal Legion, 
ranged themselves in two lines near the gangway of the Monohansett 
Just after five, the procession moved to the steamboat landing. With 
the casket came t^vo officers of the Grand Armv, and twelve veterans, 
w^io bore on their shoulders the coffin. The silken folds of an Ameri- 
can ensign draped the head of it. ]Mrs. Sheridan, leaning on the arm 
of Colonel ^lichael V. Sheridan, and holding the hand of her voungest 
child, little Phil, followed. Mrs. Michael V. Sheridan led [Mary Sher- 
idan next. Then followed Sister Justicla, of the Bon Seours, hold- 
ing the hand of Louise, while the little tAvin sister, Irene, was es- 
corted by the good Sister L rban. Mrs. Sheridan's servant and maid 
were the next in order, and they were followed by Colonel Blunt, Dr. 
Mathews, and Captain S. C. Kellogg. Klien, the general's attendant, 
Richard, his waiter, and Rohrback, the general's clerk, completed the 
procession. Very slowly it moved toward the landing. 

There was not a person to be seen on the Nonquit meadows. There 
was not a single carriage to be seen, for, with remarkable delicacy, the 
surrounding population refrained from coming near. The settlement 
might have been deserted so far as any signs of moving life outside the 



394 THE LIFE OF 

cottages and the hotel were concerned. At a quarter past 5 o'clock 
the head of the cortege passed Henry B. Peirce, Secretary of State, of 
Missouri, and vice-commander of the Loyal Legion, in charge of the 
delegation. The members thereof present were Colonel Charles 
Devens, Colonel Joseph W. Gilroy, General A. P. Martin, Colonel 
Henr)' Stone, Major Edward Dews, Dr. J. H. Mackie, Captain A. M, 
Dudley, Lieutenants F. S. Giflbrd and B. Penniman, and Colonel A. A. 
Rand, representing the Massachusetts Commandery ; Colonel William 
Broadhead, of the New York Commandery ; Captain J. M. Lewis, of 
the Ohio Commandery ; Colonel Douglas, of the Rhode Island Com- 
mandery ; and Major Farnham Lyon and Lieutenant Stewart Draper, 
of the Michigan Commandery. Colonel Dudley represented the Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, General Rae. 
With uncovered heads the veterans stood and silently watched the pas- 
sage of the remains. The coffin was placed in the open space in front 
of the ladies' cabin of the Monohansett. Mrs. Sheridan kissed little 
Phil, and pressed the wondering, awestruck boy to her bosom. Then 
she embraced Mary and the twin girls, and turned with faltering steps 
to the Monohansett. The little ones wept piteously, and Mrs. Colonel 
Sheridan, in whose charge they were left, endeavored in vain to assuage 
their grief. Mrs. Sheridan, Colonel Sheridan, and the sisters went to 
the ladies' cabin, where they remained in privacy. 

The departure from the Monohansett was made in the same order 
as that of embarkation. A special train of five cars was in waiting. 
A very large, yet silent and orderly crowd was in waiting. All the 
bells in the city were tolled. All flags on vessels and public buildings 
were at half mast. The coffin was placed in the black-draped space in 
the combination car, and rested on an elevated platform in the centre. 
The mourners entered the rear sleeping coach. Colonel Blunt and the 
army officers took possession of the second sleeping car and the few 
representatives of the press allowed on the train were allotted the private 
saloon, "Idlewild." In the make up there came first a baggage car, then 
a combination car, in which the body was placed on a platform covered 
with black velvet, in the baggage compartment. The floor of this 
compartment was covered with black cambric, and the walls and roof 
with alternate broad vertical stripes of black and white, continued into 
the middle of the monitor loof in wall-tent form. On one side of the 
car, inside, wei'e two small flags and the motto, " We mourn our heroic 
dead," all covered with semi-transparent black crape. Over the outer 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. ^9^ 

door was a flag. The passenger compartment was hung with black, 
white, and red, and the outside of the car with black. Then followed 
two Pullman cars and the private car of Vice-President Thompson, of 
the Pennsylvania railroad. The last car was occupied by Mrs. Sher- 
idan. The train was drawn to Walpole by locomotive No. io8 of the 
Old Colony railroad, which was trimmed with bunches of black and 
white ribbon. The train left in charge of Conductors F. M. Buzzell 
and C. F. Russell, Baggage-master Clarence Wing, Engineer E. A. 
Barker, and Fireman M. S. Kennedy. 

It was Mrs. Sheridan's desire that the start should be near sun down, 
and the speed maintained a slow one. At every station, as the train 
passed, the draped flags and masses of silent, uncovered spectators, 
gave eloquent though luispoken evidences of the common feeling of loss. 
The people remained till late in the night at all the principal stations, 
and the bells were tolled at Taunton, Mansfield, Walpole — where a 
Grand Army Post was drawn up — at Putman, Willimantic, New Lon- 
don, New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, and until it reached Harlem 
in the early dawn at 4.55 of the 9th. In this way the pressure of the 
crowds in New York was avoided. The transfer to the waiting rail- 
road ferry-boat was speedily and orderly made, and at Jersey City the 
precious freight was transferred to the Pennsylvania railroad with care, 
kindness, and foresight, as had been arranged. A special train of four 
cars was provided, manned, too, by veterans in the employ of the great 
corporation, who had all served with " Little Phil" :— ex-cavalrymen 
all, their presence was indeed a tribute of respect. 

The names of these veterans deserve to be recorded. Their duties 
with the train, and former position in the " service" are also given : 

Engineer — "Joe" Killey, formerly captain of Company A, First 
New Jersey Cavalry. vServed in the army from 1861 to 1S65. 

Firetnan—]. Rodd, formerly quartermaster-sergeant of the Sixth 
New York Cavalry. Served in the army from 1S61 to 1865. 

Conductor — W. W. Branson, formerly second lieutenant of Com- 
pany C, First New Jersev Cavalry. Served in the army from 1861 to 
1865. 

Baggage-master — H. Heberton, formerly lieutenant in the Fif- 
teenth Pennsylvania Cavalry. , Served in the army from 1861 to 1863. 



396 THE LIFE OF 

J^/aofftan — S. Craig, t'ormorlv captain ot" Company A. l-'irst Now 
York Cavalry. Served in the armv from iS6i to 1S05. 

Silently the corfe^e passed by the great city. As silently it lett 
Jersey Citv, and passed on its way to the general's last resting-place. 
At various points a tew people gathered. Demonstration was carefully 
avoided bv halting outside Thiladelphia, and at Baltimore by taking the 
Potomac route, which, with its tunnels, enabled keeping out of sight. 

The arrival at Washington was ki\own ami the people in large mnn- 
bers, in silence, and with uncovereil heads, paid their tribute to him 
who was well and personally known among them. It was 3.1- r. m. 
when the av/t-^'v entered the Baltimore and Potomac Oepot. It was 
met by General Schotield, and Lieutenants Sawyer, Bliss, and Pitcher, 
of his stati', a Guard of Honor from the District of Columbia Comm.tnd- 
er}-. Loyal Legion, and Troop B, of the Fourth Cavalry, Captain Law- 
ton in command. As the train slowed into the station eight sergeants 
of the Third Artillery, under command of Lieutenant Danes, marched 
up the platform and formed in line. After the departure of INIrs. Sheri- 
dan with her father and sister, the artillery sergeants took the casket 
from the car in which it made the journey from Nonquit and bore it 
to a gun caisson belonging to the Third Artillery, which was draped 
with flags festooned with crape. As the caisson bearing the body left 
the station. Troop B, of the Fourth Cavalry, fell into line in front and 
escorted the procession up PennsvK ania Avenue to Fifteenth Street, and 
to St. Matthew's Church. 

Following the caisson in carriages were General SchotieUl anil statV, 
Dr. O'Rielly, Colonel Blunt, and the Guard of Honor from the local 
commandery. Loyal Legion. As the body reached the church iloor it 
was met bv a procession o( tlie clergv and the sanctuary boys singing 
the •' Miserere." 

After the casket had been placeil upon the catafalque the prelimi- 
nary burial service \\ as recited, the choir singing a funeral hynni. The 
services concluded, the little companv inuuediately left the church. 

Onlv the final services remained 1 onlv the requiem I only tlio funeral 
pageant I Then laid awav among his dead — our soldier will be at rest. 

Man\ poetical tributes have already been paid his memory, among 
them being those of Walt Whitman, David Graham, Adee, and others. 
But the finest of these is from the pen of Richard Watson CJilder, the 
poet-editor of the CcNtiirv. It was published in the Critic, and bore 
the title " Grant, Sherman, Sheridan." 



GEN. PHIL. II. SHERIDAN. ^97 

(.ijiiclly, like a cliild 

'riiat sinks ill Kluiubcr mild, 
No pain or lioniili-ii tlioiif,'ii(: his well-t-ariied peace to mar, 
Sank into endless rest onr tlitin(leri)olt ol' war. 

Tliougli liis tlie |)()wer lo smite, 

(.)jiick UK the li^htniii^'K light — 
His single arm an army, and his name a host. 
Not his the love of hlood, llu- warrior's cruel hoast. 

Hut in the battle's (lame 

I low glorious he came! — 
Even like the white-combed wave that breaks and tears the shore, 
While wreck lies strewn behind, and terror flies before. 

'Twas he, — his voice, his might, — 

Could staj the panic-Hight, 
Alone shame back the headlong, many-leagued retreat. 
And turn to evening triumph morning's foul defeat. 

He was our modern Mars, 

Yet (irm his faith that wars 
Krclong would cease to vex the sad, ensanguined earth. 
And peace forever reign, as at Christ's holy birth. 

Blest land, in whose dark hour 

Doth rise to mightiest power 
No dazzler of the sword to play the tyrant's part, 
But patriot-soldiers, true and pure and high of heart! 

Of such our chief of all ; * 

And he who broke the wall 
Of civil strife in twain, no more to build or mend; 
And he wiu) iiutli this day made Death his faithful friend. 

And now above his tomb 

From out the eternal gloom 
" Welcome " his chieftain's voice sounds o'er the cannon's knell; 
And of the three only one stays lo say '• Farewell ! " 



ili)iU|j iSntrij Sijcritian. 



Nor Ivingi, nor ^Prrr, nor priftilrgrtJ linaije toijo stole 
jFrom ilator's arljing tljcvos its scantg trolr, 
<!^n t1)is lean's stoorti a t)irrUniVs lien tiiti i)oltr! 
Ko Jflastrr's ijritic unto tl)r inrtor's goal, 
Kor g^tatcrraft's vul)im in mran or loftg role, 
STo 1)is traiie luain gaDe fire or Ujisij so tolti! 
ILife's fame on larger lines tliat ^Wr lot's molti, 
|l)is Butt) simple east in gvantier U)i)ole! 

agtle Ijolti all tiear inljo for our Bnion fougljt, 
mu lotie tlje 1i3ral)e inlio for ILitertj) 1)at1) ixnouglit, 
^nti ti)is stronin iBan to1)ose serliiee rose so ciranti, 
IKetiereti Uiill i)e Vuijile memories Inirn 
iLilie some elear toljite ligljt out eenturieti urn, 
gls one, in trutl), lni)o l;niiil)tli) tiiti eommanti ! 

— Itiieljarti J. I^inton. 




PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN. 

{From a Recent Photograj>h.\ 



Chapter XXX. 



SHERIDAN'S LAST RIDE. 

LYING IN STATE — QUAINT AND QUIET ST. MATTHEW's THE WIDOW'S LAST 

FAREWELL — THE DECORATIONS AND CATAFALQUE — CHANTING THE RK- 
qyiEM — SCENES IN THE CHURCH — THE DISTINGUISHED CONGREGATION — 
ALTAR BOYS AND DOMINICAN MONKS — CARDINAL GIBBONS* SERMON — 
— THE FUNERAL PAGEANT — BUGLER KIMBALL SOUNDS " TAP-TAPS " — 
"PUT OUT THE lights" — " GOOD-NIGHT " — HISTORIC ARLINGTON AND 
SHERIDAN'S GRAVE. 

The Church of vSt. Matthew's, on the corner of Fifteenth, and H 
Street Northwest, is a plain, simple, puritanical structure, at first 
glance to a stranger's eye looking quite unlike a Catholic Church. It 
was the centre of attraction on the loth of August, for the body of 
a beloved soldier of the Republic lay there in state, ere removal to its 
final resting-place at Arlington. 

Before the public was admitted, just before 8 A. M., Mrs. Sheridan, 
accompanied by her father and mother. General and Mrs. Rucker, her 
sisters, and Colonel M. V. Sheridan, entered the simple church build- 
ing. A special requiem mass was celebrated by the pastor. Father 
Kervick, and then the church was left to the wife and mother and her 
sacred dead. Ere the attendant guard of honor retired, the coffin lid 
was removed for the first time since leaving Nonquit, so that the face 
and bust of the dead lover and husband might be seen by his devoted 
companion. Who shall intrude upon that holy communion — that 
sacred association of the "quick and the dead " .^ In solemn stillness 
— alone — the sorely afflicted lady was left to such sorrow and yet such 
rapture of resolve as may well be supposed to commingle over so be- 
loved a form. At last the father and mother stole in, and found their 
dear one kneeling still over her dead. Gently they carried her away, 
with that last look, that last treasured glance of his marble face and 
noble head to be carried forever in her memory. Only once more was 
the lid unfastened. That was when John Sheridan, the general's 
elder brother, a veteran of the ranks, an employing printer in Ohio, 
arrived from his home, and desired to once more look upon his famous 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 401 

brother's face. He is a middle-aged, portly man, looking like the 
father, and as he bowed over the casket the suppressed sobs of a strong- 
man's sorrow were heard by those in attendance. 

All day the sympathizing people passed through the church and 
in long lines around the coffin. It was Mrs. Sheridan's wish, and in 
accord with her conception of the general's desires, that the lid was 
not removed. The interior they saw was solemn and movu'nful in its 
ensemble. The scant light through the stained glass windows and the 
flickering light of a dozen wax tapers but dimly outlined the scene 
about the altar, while giving added sombreness to the heavy drapings 
of crape that hung from ceiling, balcon}^, and pillar. Immediateh' be- 
fore the altar, on high successive pedestals, forming a graceful apex, 
rested the coffin. To the left, with wdiite-gloved hands folded across 
his breast, stood an artillery-man in full uniform, with short sabre swing- 
ing at his belt, keeping silent guard over his silent charge. On either 
side of the catafalque, slender marble tables supported tall candelabra 
in which burned dimly the tapers recjuired in such church services. 
At the corners and further back, were other candelabra unlighted, wait- 
ing for the final mass and burial. Further back stood the red throne 
erected for the cardinal, and a pair of draped flags lent a background 
of slight color to the dark decoration of the chancel. 

Over the coffin was loosely thrown, in sash-like folds, a heavy silk 
American flag, the red and white stripes falling gracefully on one side, 
and the blue ground with gold stars dropping on the other. Buried in 
the soft folds on the top of the casket was the dead general's sabre, 
with the names of all his battles and their dates engraved along the 
scabbard. The .sash of his rank, woven with yellow silk and gold 
thread, lay folded across the top, and the heavy gold tassels fell on one 
side. The black-plumed chapeau was there, not looking new and 
unused, but showing such marks of service as the general had given 
it. At the head of the coffin, as one approached the altar, a tall 
flagstaff" rose high above, bearing the identical corps flag which Sheri- 
dan had used at the close of the war. This was that oriflamme of red 
with a white star on one side and a white ground with a red star on the 
other, which had led the way into many bloody fights and many a bril- 
liant victory. It was the rally flag he waved at Winchester. It swung 
heavily in the smoky-laden atmosphere of the Wilderness. It was seen 
in the desperate charges of Todd's Tavern ; on the field where Stuart 
fell ; at Trevilian Station ; from Staunton to Charlottesville ; it rustled 
angrily in the Homeric fury of Five Forks, and waved in commanding 
hostility when Lee made his last effort just before the surrender. It 

26 



402 THE LIFE OF 

lis not an established flag, but the colors are of such design and pattern 
;as the commander of a corps may choose as his distinguishing mark. 
Two other old flags, of designs now forgotten and out of service, were 
back of the coffin. One was the blue cavalry guidon carried by 
Sheridan's troops in some of his earlier cavalry raids. Now the guidon 
is of yellow, not blue, and of a different pattern. The other flag held 
associations of the hero's early battles, and was that of his division 
headquarters at Perryville and Stone River ; in the Tullahoma campaign, 
marching, fighting, and bridge building ; at the front, flaring on the 
fateful field of Chickamauga, and rising in triumph up the rock-ribbed 
sides of Mission Ridge, until, moving over its crest, this soiled, frayed, 
ragged, battle-riven emblem became the oriflamme of victory. 

The fronts of both galleries were covered with large flags caught 
up at intervals with broad bands of black. Above the entrance on 
the front of the organ loft were grouped regimental and cavalry flags, 
fastened together by a knot of black, with black streamers. The 
altar was heavily draped. The candelabra and the marble figures on 
either side were draped with black. Two silk American flags hung 
from the wall above the altar. The cardinal's throne on the left of 
the altar was appropriately covered, and the front of the pulpit was 
concealed by heavy black velvet,^ with deep silver fringe. A space 
had been made in front of the altar by the removal of four pews on 
either side of the main aisle, in the centre of which stood the cata- 
falque, the same that was used in the funeral obsequies of King Al- 
phonso, held in this church on the death of tTiat king, several years ago. 
It is about four feet high, and rests upon a broad base, which was cov- 
ered with the national colors, lx)rdered with a band of black velvet. 
All these, though subdued, and with the tokens of the church services 
everywhere in the foreground, still ser\ed to give the spectator the 
impression of military pomp and ceremonial. The clinking of spurs 
and, now and then, the stroke of a sabre as it was drawn over the tes- 
sellated pavement, broke the usual quiet and repose of the place. 

The plain yet massive simplicity of the interior, centering as it 
did on the catafalque and the casket thereon, enshrouding in its sober 
garb of black and silver the remains of the dead soldier, left nothing 
to mar the sad harmony of the scene. By Mrs. Sheridan's request, 
the floral tributes, some of great beauty, and all in loveliness and 
abundance, were grouped eflectively on the altar steps. Masses of 
flowers in various forms were piled up under the Virgin's altar : The 
shoulder strap of a general in blue and yellow flowers ; an easel with 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 403 

vines ; a white ci-oss from tlie President ; palms, clustered bunches of 
pond lilies, and a wreath. From Boston was sent a large piece repre- 
senting the "Gates Ajar," made at the order of a number of United 
States Senators. In height and length it was nearly six feet, in width 
it was four feet. In the centre were two large pillars, from which gates 
were hung. Joining the pillars was an arch, having in the centre a 
cross and a crown. Suspended from the arch was a pure white dove, 
and on the top of each pillar was a large star. Through the open gate 
and picket fence was a representation of the Garden of Eden, in which 
flowers, roses, and ferns abounded in artistic profusion. On the right 
corner stood a beautiful bouquet of roses tied with satin ribbon. 
Across the front the inscription read, " Light lie the earth on thee." 
Some four thousand asters, and a large number of crimson king carna- 
tions, crysanthemums, and i"oses were used in this tribute. 

Mr. John W. Mackey sent an appropriate gift — a wreath of ivy 
intermingled with palm branches. It was worked in artistic taste and' 
attracted attention from its peculiar fitness and sombre beauty. All 
day on the loth, the long line of silent sj^ectators saw sitting on a step 
of the altar a sad-faced colored man, in years beyond middle-age. 
The officer in command spoke to him familiarly, but with respect. 
This was Richard, who for over twenty years had been the faithful 
body-servant of General Sheridan. He was the general's attendant in 
health, was with him in that last desperate struggle against death, and 
still on duty, sat there beside the coffin of his benefactor and much-loved 
employer. 

The preparations for the morrow's funeral went on qviietly and 
steadily. It was to be strictly in accordance with military regulations, 
even to the use of the artillery caisson as a bier for the hero's body. 
Major-General Schofield, the senior officer in the regular army, and 
who is now in command of it, was in charge of the ceremony. The 
troops called for in the following were all ready : 

Headquarterrs Military Division of the Atlantic, 
Governor's Island, N. Y., Aug. 8, i88S. 
Special Order No. i6o. 

The following troops will compose the military escort at the funeral 
of the late General Philip H. Sheridan, commanding the Army of the 
United States, which is to take place in Washington, D. C, on Satur- 
day, Aug. II, 1888 : A battalion of foot troops, to consist of batteries 
F, First (Davis'), I, Second (Vose's), M, Third (Kobbe's), and H, 
(Story's), Fourth Artillery, Fort Monroe, Va. ; batteries A (Ches- 



404 THE LIFE OF 

ter's), E (Lancaster's), K (Smith's), and L (Hess'), Third Artillery, 
Washington Barracks, D. C. ; batteries D (Knower's) and G (Bar- 
stow's). Third Artillery, Fort IMcHenry, ]\Id., under command of 
Colonel Horatio G. Gibson, Third Artillery. 

The battalion of cavalry (troops B, Fourth, and B, Sixth regi- 
ments), Fort Alyer, Va., Major Louis H. Carpenter, Fifth Cavalrv, 
commanding. 

Light Battery C, Third Artillery (Turnbull's), Washington Bar- 
racks, D. C. Light Battery F, Fifth Artillery (Brinckle's), Fort 
Hamilton, N. Y. H. 

The major-general commanding will be in command of the funeral 
escort. 

The artillery troops designated will so time their departure from 
their respective posts as to arrive in Washington on Friday morning, 
the loth inst. Thev will then proceed to Washington Barracks, report- 
ing their arrival to the commanding officer of that station. They will 
take with them their camp equipage. The cavalry battalion will report 
at Washington Barracks on the morning of the nth inst., in time to 
take its place in the column for the march to the church and cemetery. 
The Qiiartermaster Department will furnish all necessary arrange- 
ments for the transportationof these troops to and in Washington and 
return to their posts. 

The commanding officer at Fort Adams, R. L, is hereby directed 
to send at once to New Bedford, Mass., two commissioned and eight 
non-commissioned officers for duty as guard over and bearers of the 
bodv of General Sheridan \vhile being transferred on the afternoon 
of the 8th inst. from Nonquit to Washington, D. C. The guard will 
take charge of the remains on their arrival at New Bedford, and convey 
them to the special train. At Washington the guard will receive fur- 
ther orders. The Qiiartermaster Department will furnish the neces- 
sary transportation. 

The depot quartermaster. New York City, is hereby directed to 
provide a special funeral train to convey the remains of General Sheri- 
dan, and the attendants thereupon, from Nonquit, Mass., to Washing- 
ton, D. C, starting on Wednesday, p. M., August 8, i888. 

The commanding officer, Washington Barracks, will cause a cais- 
son to be prepared to convey the remains from the railroad depot to the 
church and from the church to the cemetery. 

The commanding officer, Fort Myer, will cause a troop of cavalry to 
be at the railroad depot in Washington on Thursday, the 9th inst., to 
meet the remains of General Sheridan and escort them to their tem- 
porary resting-place. 

Bv command of Major-General Schofield. 

William D. Whipple, As$istant Adjutant-General. 
Official, John Pitcher, A. D. C. 

The artillery command arrived at Washington on the loth, and 
the cavalry upon the morning of the nth instant. This battalion was 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 40^ 

in command of Captain Lawton, of the famous Seventh Regiment, 
whose commander, Brevet Brigadier-General James W. Forsyth, was 
Sheridan's fellow cadet, his companion in arms on the Pacific coast, 
and afterwards and for years his staff officer and intimate associate 
and friend. Captain Lawton is a man of herculean mould and of 
most striking appearance. His swarthy complexion, black hair, and 
soldierly air is enhanced, as it were, by his splendid reputation as an 
Indian fighter. 

Speaker Carlisle appointed the following members as the represen- 
tatives of the House upon the joint Congressional Committee to attend 
General Sheridan's funeral : Messrs. Hooker, of Mississippi ; Cutcheon, 
of Michigan ; Wheeler, of Alabama ; Henderson, of Illinois ; Cox, of 
New York ; Grosvenor, of Ohio, and McShane, of Nebraska. Colonel 
Ho'bker lost an arm in the military service of the Confederacy, and 
Geiieral Wheeler, of Alabama, was Sheridan's antagonist in a number 
of hard-fought skirmishes and engagements in Tennessee, Alabama, 
and Northern Georgia. He was the best Confederate cavalry com- 
mander in that section, and has often been termed, because of his 
stature, his audacity, and skill " the Sheridan of the South." A con- 
current resolution also passed both houses of Congress to the eftect that 
when the members adjourned on Friday it would be to meet again on 
Monday, in order to allow the members to attend the funeral. Cards 
of invitation to be present at the church and cemeterv were issued from 
army headquarters. Engraved on note paper with a heavy black 
border, they read as follows : 

You are invited to be. present at the funeral ceremonies in honor 
of General Sheridan, which will take place at St. Matthew's Church, 
Washington, at lo o'clock on the morning of Saturday, the nth of 
August. • 

The invitations were accompanied b}- a card of admission which 
contained the following : 

Admit bearer to funeral ceremonies of General Sheridan at St. 
Matthew's Church, at lo o'clock, a. m., on Saturday, the nth of 
August. Please be in the church at least ten minutes before lo o'clock. 

The President issued an order directing the closing of the depart- 
ments and public offices on the day of the funeral. The invitations to 
attend included the President and Mrs. Cleveland, the members of 
the Cabinet and the ladies of their families, the judges of the United 
States Supreme Court, the judges of the local courts, the members of 
the Diplomatic Corps, the members of the Senate and House of Rep- 



4o6 THE LIFE OF 

resentatives, aiul the elective officers ofboth houses, all the members of 
the Catholic clergy in Washington, all officers of the Army, Navy, and 
^Marine Corps stationed in Washington, twenty-five to the Grand Army 
of the Republic, twenty-five to the Loyal Legion, eighty to the members 
of the press, and a large number to persoual friends of the familv. 
The total number of invitations issued was 1,500, and no person was 
admitted to the church without a card of admission. 

Colonel John M. Wilson, Commissioner of Public Buildings and 
Grounds, was selected to take charge of the seating arrangements at 
the church. lie appointed the following officers to assist him in seat- 
ing those invited : .Vrmv — JNLijor Thomas Ward, Assistant Adjutant- 
General ; Captain John G. Bourke, Third Cavalry ; Lieutenant W. P. 
Duvall, Fifth Artillery ; Lieutenant Thomas G. Knox, First Cavalrv ; 
Lieutenant C. Mc D. Townsend, of the Engineer Corps. Na\y — 
Lieutenant George L. Dyer, Lieutenant William II. vSchuetze, Past 
Assistant-Engineer F. C. Bieg, Past Assistant-Engineer H. P. Nor- 
ton, and Lieutenant Randolph Dickens, United States Marine Corps. 
The pall-bearers were announced early in the day as follows : 
General Sherman ; Marshal Field, of Chicago ; General Hawle}-, of 
the United States Senate ; Speaker Carlisle ; Vice-President Frank 
Thompson, of the Pennsylvania railroad ;General Wesley Merritt, Ignited 
States Army ; the senior officer of the Grand Army of the Republic in 
the District of Columbia ; Secretary Whitney ; General MacFeeley, 
United States Army ; General Joseph Fullerton, of St. Louis; Secretary 
Endicott, and G. W. Childs. The following officers of General Sheri- 
dan's start' were especially invited to attend the fimeral : General J. W. 
Forsyth, Colonel Fred. D. Grant, Colonel James F. Gregory, Colonel 
George W. Davis, General J. \V. and Colonel (Jeorge S. Forsvth, 
United States Army. 

Brevet Brigadier-General Tompkins, commanding the Second 
United States Cavalry, was placeil in connnaml of tlie escort. 

General Sheridan commanded at the funeral of his comrade, John 
A. Logan, who, at his own request, was buried at Arlington. The 
genei'al then expressed the desire to find his last resting-place in the 
same historic ground. In accordance with this wish, on the day pre- 
ceding the burial. General Rucker (Mrs. Sheridan's father), accom- 
panied by General MacFeeley, Commissary General, and Major 
Lydecker, of the Engineer Corps, visited Arlington and made choice of 
the commanding spot in which our gallant leader is now laid at rest. 
The consecration of the grave was appro]:)riately performed by the 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 407 

bishop-elect of Detroit, the Right Rev. Tlioma.s Foley, whose brother 
it was, as Bishop of Detroit, who performed the ceremony at the 
marriage of Philip Henry Sheridan and Irene M. Rucker, fourteen ^ears 
before tliis sad occasion. 

The heat of the season compelled the pastor of St. Matthew's to 
limit the musical part of the ceremony to the singing of a single requiem 
mass. Before the service, the choir of clergy, of whom there were over 
twenty in attendance, chanted the "Miserere," and at the close of the 
service the " I^enedictus " and " Libera Me." The services in the 
chiuxh then did not occupy more than an hour and a half. 

The morning broke with a clear, unclouded sky, burning with all the 
fervor of an August day in Washington. 

It was on the stroke of nine wlien with military promptness the 
three doors of St. Matthew's Church were opened, groujDS of epauleted 
officers received friends and mourners, and escorted them to their seats. 
There was no confusion and hurry — white tickets to the body of the 
church, red tickets up-stairs. The rusty, well-worn, (dd-fashioned 
pews had been marked off into sections or groups, and for an hour 
they slowly, noiselessly filled up : — on the right side near the Virgin's 
altar, the diplomatic representatives, not more than thirty, and only 
the military attaches in uniform. On the other side the committees of 
the Senate and House, with sashes and rosettes, were quietly marshaled 
into place by Mr. Christie, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate. 
Famous people, statesmen, soldiers, sailors, Illustrious men, with names 
of world-wide celebrity, were escorted to the pews by the martial 
ushers. 

Ingalls, with his keen, rather Voltaire-looking face, sat, as presitling 
officer, to the front and right of the Senators. There were noted among 
others, Allison, Morgan, Evarts, Dolph, West, Hoar, Dawes, and 
Edmunds. The Representatives likewise clustered in masses. 

A voluntary, which came from the organ like a wail, and all eyes 
turned toward a small company, slowly led up the centre aisle : Colo- 
nel Michael V. Sheridan, with the widow of the general leaning on his 
arm ; John Sheridan, another brother, with a striking resemblance to 
the deceased, portly, spectacled ; General and Mrs. Rucker. with 
other members of the family, all in deep mourning. In front of the 
coffin were three velvet chairs and prie-dieus. In the centre, Mrs. 
Sheridan, with a brother (jn each side, knelt in prayer. Then another 
group — what might be called the general's military family, his aides 
and companions: General J. W. Forsyth — "Tony" Forsyth, as the 



4o8 THE LIFE OF 

army affectionately calls him — classmate, aide, and life-long friend, 
his hair silken and white ; Colouel Frederick D. Grant, with the almost 
startling resemblance to his father ; Schuyler Crosby, in deepest sor- 
row ; Alger, of Michigan, with a military, well-knit, keen, French 
face, who carried Sheridan his first field commission ; Colonel James 
F. Gregor}-, Colonel G. W. Davis, and George S. Forsyth, whom the 
army knows as " Sandy," famous in Indian and other wars, and dear 
to the dead commander. 

Priests, acolvtes, groups of boys, with purple and scarlet trim- 
mings above their white gowns, clustered around the altar. The church 
began its sacred offices of repose and intercession. The tall candles 
around the bier were lighted, and burned freely in the gentle breeze 
which escaped from the sultr}-, drowsy sun. The chancel swarmed with 
clergymen in various stages of authority, and all knelt as, following an 
uplifted cross, the spare form of Cardinal Gibbons, robed in scarlet, 
wearing the beretta, slowly moved from the sacristy, knelt at the 
altar, and was escorted to the episcopal throne. 

As the cardinal bent in prayer there was a rustle of interest as 
another group moved up the aisle under military escort — the President, 
Mrs. Cleveland, and Mrs. Folsom. Special chairs had been pro- 
vided, but the President paused a moment, looked at the ostenta- 
tious curules, and seated himself in the modest pew behind, beside Sec- 
retaries Fairchild and Vilas. In the rear sat Secretaries Bayard and 
Dickinson. The pall-bearers slowly marched up the further aisle. At 
the head was Sherman — tall, erect, in full uniform, his fine, brave 
face compressed in evident emotion — the last of the hei'oes of our great- 
est days. At his side Speaker Carlisle, with thin, cultured, intellectual 
face, and clear, penetrating eye ; Hawley, Augur, Endicott and Whit- 
ney from the Cabinet ; George W. Childs, General MacFeeley, 
Wesley Merritt, Mr. Lincoln, of the Grand Arm}-, and Marshal 
Field, of Chicago — close friends or dear comrades of the dead com- 
mander, all of them. 

Suddenly, the full, sweet, sad resonance of the organ's wailing 
notes pealed through and filled the church. The altar boys emerged 
from the sacristy and ranged themselves around the bier, while the 
sanctuary filled up with the clergy. 

The Dominican Brothers chanted the " Miserere." As the solemn 
and melancholy notes struck on the ears of the bereaved widow, she was 
visibly affected, and rested still harder on Colonel Sheridan's arm, 
which was supporting her. But a few minutes lasted this peal of 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 409 

anguish for a lost soul, and then the organ gave forth a burst of stately 
music as the procession of clergy entered. Two altar boys bearing 
lighted candles led the way, then came the pastors of the various city 
churches, next Father J. F. Mackin, the celebrant. Father T. J. Ker- 
vick, the deacon, and Father S. F. Ryan, the sub-deacon, and lastly 
Cardinal Gibbons, wearing the red beretta, the insignia of his office, 
and the purple archiepiscopal cape. The officiating clergymen wore 
black robes elaborately embroidered with gold. Softly the organ played 
as the prelates knelt in silent adoration, and every one in the congre- 
gation, Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Gentile, bowed the head in 
prayer. 

It was a notable gathering. The tall wax candles on the altar cast 
a soft light on the upturned features of the highest dignitary of the 
Catholic Church in America. Directly in front was the President of the 
United States and his wife and Cabinet. To the right was the family 
of the dead soldier. To the left were the pall-bearers and prominent 
military men, headed by General Sherman in the full uniform of a gen- 
eral of the United States Army. On the other side were the Congres- 
sional committees ; behind them Senators, Representatives, and the 
judges. Here were gathered together every branch of the government 
and the highest officers of the government. 

The cardinal took his place at the foot of the coffin and read the 
prayers of the church in Latin and then in English. The whole 
assembly listened in sympathy, as with singularly sweet, sincere voice 
the priest commended to God the soul of "Our dear brother Philip 
Henry," praying that the angels would guide him into Paradise and 
'give him everlasting rest. The President, who sat almost at the side 
of the cardinal, bent his head reverently during the prayers, and the 
priests who had formed into line along the aisle chanted the responses. 
And then by one of those odd phenomena in nature — out of which 
faith and perhaps fancy might draw an omen of consolation — at this 
moment the hazy, sultry summer air suddenly flushed with sunshine 
— clear, lucid sunshine — for there came through an oval window over 
the altar a sudden bvn-st of light, illuminating the chancel, paling the 
candle gleams, suffusing the scarlet decorations of the episcopal throne 
with a deeper hue ; a strange, striking effect, causing a manifest 
movement among the congregation, for it seemed as if the consenting 
heavens were answering in very truth, the prayer of the church, and 
sending a glow of light and hope and peace over the proud manes of 
Sheridan. 



4IO THE LIFE OF 

And while the sweet, entreating voice intoned the otfices of the 
dead, and from the trained company of priests and musicians came 
the answering entreaty that God would be with the dead and have 
mercy forevermore, through the windows came a quick sound of 
command, the bugle note, the tramp of armed men moving into col- 
umn, the crash of the muskets as they came heavily to the ground. It 
was a strange unison — peace and \var, repose and action. The church 
and the state seemed to blend and to combine to do honor to the memory 
of the dead. At the conclusion of the mass the cardinal descended 
from his red-covered throne, and delivered the following discourse in a 
calm, impressive manner: 

"And Jonathan and Simon took Judas their brother, and buried him 
in the sepulchre of their fathers, in the cit}' of Modin. And all the 
people of Israel bewailed him with great lamentation ; and they mourned 
for him many days, and said : How is the mighty fallen that saved 
the people of Israel. — i Mach. ix., 19-21. 

" Well might the children of Israel bewail their great captain who 
led them so often to battle and to victory. And well may this Nation 
grieve for the loss of the mighty chieftain whose mortal remains now 
lie before us. In everv city and town and village of the country, from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific, his name is uttered with sorrow, and his 
great deeds recorded with admiration, 

"There is one consoling feature that distinguishes the obsequies ot 
our illustrious hero from those of the great Hebrew leader. He was 
buried in the midst of war, amid the clashing of arms, and surrounded 
by the armed hosts of the enemy. Our captain, thank God, is buried 
amid profound peace, while w^e are enjo3'ing the blessings of domestic 
tranquility, and are in friendship with all the world. 

"The death of General Sheridan will be lamented not only by the 
North, but also by the South. I know the Southern people; I know 
tlieir chivalry ; I know their magnanimity, their warm and affectionate 
nature ; and I am sure that the sons of the South, and especially those 
who fought in the late war, will join in the national lamentation and 
will lay a garland of mourning on the bier of the great general. They 
recognize the fact that the Nation's general is dead, and that his dcatli is 
the Nation's loss. 

" And this universal sympathy, coming from all sections of the coun- 
try, irrespective of party lines, is easily accounted for when we consider 
that under an overruling: Providence the war in which General Sheri- 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 411 

dan took such a conspicuous part has resulted in increased blessings to 
every state of our common country. 

" ' There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
Rough-hew them how we will.' 

" And this is true of nations, as well as of individuals. 

"What constitutes the great difference between the wars of antiquity 
and our recent war? The war of the olden time was followed by sub- 
jugation and bondage : — in the train of our great struggle came recon- 
ciliation and freedom. Alexander the Great waded through the blood 
of his fellow-man. By the sword he conquered, and by the sword he 
kept the vanquished in bondage. Scarcely was he cold in death when 
his vassals shook off the yoke and his empire was dismembered into 
fragments. 

" The effect of the late war has been to weld together the Nation still 
more closely into one cohesive body. It has removed once for all, 
slavery, the great apple of discord ; it has broken down the wall of 
separation which divided section from section, and exhibits us more 
strikingly as one nation, one family, with the same aims and the same 
aspirations. The humanity exhibited in our late struggle contrasted 
with the cruelties exercised toward the vanquished of former times, is 
an eloquent tribute to the blessings of Christian civilization. 

" In surveying the life of General Sheridan it seems to me that these 
were his prominent featiu^es and the salient points in his character : 
undaunted heroism, combined with gentleness of disposition ; strong 
as a lion in war, gentle as a child in peace ; bold, daring, fearless, 
undaunted, unhesitating, his courage rising with the danger ; ever fer- 
tile in resources, ever prompt in execution, his rapid movements never 
impelled by a blind impulse, but ever prompted by a calculating mind. 

" I have neither the time nor the ability to dwell upon his military 
career from the time he left West Point till the close of the war. Let 
me select one incident which reveals to us his quickness of conception 
and readiness of execution. I refer to his famous ride in the Valley of 
Virginia. As he is advancing along the road he sees his routed army 
rushing pell-mell toward him. Qiiick as thought — by the glance of 
his eye, by the power of his word, by the sti-ength of his will — he 
hurls back that living stream on the enemy and snatches victory from 
the jaws of defeat. How bold in war, how gentle in peace. On 
some few occasions in Washington I had the pleasure of meeting Gen- 
eral Sheridan socially in private circles. I was forcibly struck by his 



412 THE LIFE OF 

gentle disposition, his amiable manner, his unassuming deportment, 
his eye beaming with good nature, and his voice scarcely raised above a 
whisper. I said to myself. ' Is this bashful man and retiring citizen 
the great General of the American Army ? Is this the hero of so many 
battles ? ' 

" It is true General Sheridan has been charged with being sometimes 
unnecessarily severe toward the enemy. My conversations with him 
strongly impressed me witli the groundlessness of a charge whicli could 
in nowise be reconciled with the abhorrence which he expressed for the 
atrocities of war, with his natural aversion to bloodshed, and with the 
hope he uttered that he would never again be obliged to draw his sword 
against an enemy. I am persuaded that the sentiments of humanity 
ever found a congenial home, a secure lodgment, in the breast of Gen- 
eral Sheridan. Those who are best acquainted with his military 
career unite in saying that he never needlessly sacrificed human life, and 
that he loved and cared for his soldiers as a father loves and cares for his 
children^ 

" But we must not forget that if the departed hero was a soldier, he 
was, too, a citizen, and if we wish to know how a man stands as a citi- 
zen we must ask ourselves how he stands as a son, a husband, and a 
father. The parent is the source of the family ; the family is the source 
of the nation. vSocial life is the reflex of the family life. The stream 
does not rise above its source. Those who were admitted into the 
inner circle of General Sheridan's home need not to be told that it was a 
peaceful and happy one. He was a fond husband and an aftectionate 
father, lovingly devoted to his wife and children. I hope I am not tres- 
passing upon the sacred privacy of domestic life when I state that the 
general's sickness was accelerated, if not aggravated, by a fotiguing 
journey which he made in order to be home in time to assist at a 
domestic celebration in which one of his children was the central 
figure. 

" Above all. General Sheridan was a Christian. He died fortified by 
the consolations of religion, having his trust in the saving mercies of 
our Redeemer, and a humble hope in a blessed immortality. 

' ' What is life without the hope of immortality ? What is life that is 
bounded b}^ the horizon of the tomb ? Sure, it is not worth living. 
What ie the life even of the patriarchs but like the mist which is dis- 
pelled by the morning sun .-' What would it profit this illustrious hero 
to go down to his honored grave covered with earthly glory, if he had 
no hope in the eternal glory to come ? It is the hope of eternal life that 
constitutes at once our dignity and our moral responsibility. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 413 

" God has planted in the human breast an irresistible desire for im- 
mortality. It is born with us, and lives and moves with us. It inspires 
our best and holiest actions. Now, God would not have given us this 
desire if He did not intend that it should be fully satisfied. He would 
not have given us this thirst for infinite happiness if He had not intended 
to assuage it. He never created anything in vain. 

" Thanks to God, this universal yearning of the human heart is sanc- 
tioned and vindicated by the voice of revelation. 

*' The inspired Word of God not only proclaims the immortality of 
the soul, but also the future resurrection of the body. ' I know,' says 
the prophet Job, ' that my Redeemer liveth, and that on the last day I 
shall rise ovit of the earth and in my flesh I shall see my God.' ' Won- 
der not at this,' says our Saviour, ' for the hour cometh when all that 
are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and they 
who have done well shall come forth to the resurrection of life, and 
they who have done ill to the resurrection of judgment.' And the apostle 
writes these comforting words to the Thessalonians : 'I would not 
have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those that are asleep, that ye 
be not sorrowful like those who have no hope ; for if we believe that 
Jesus died and rose again, even so those who have died in Jesus, God 
will raise unto himself. Therefore comfort yourself with these words.' 

" These are the words of comfort I would address to you, madam, 
faithful consort of the illustrious dead. This is the olive branch of 
peace and hope I would bring you to-day. This is the silver lining of 
the cloud which hangs over you. We followed you in spirit and with 
sympathizing hearts as you knelt in prayer at the bedside of your dying 
husband. May the God of all consolation comfort you in this hour of 
sorrow. May the soul of your husband be this day in peacfe and his 
abode in Zion. May his memory be ever enshrined in the hearts of his 
countrymen, and may our beloved country, which he has loved and 
served so well, ever be among the foremost nations of the earth, the 
favored land of constitutional freedom, strong in the loyalty of its pa- 
triotic citizens and in the genius and valor of its soldiers till time shall 
be no more. 

" Comrades and companions of the illustrious dead, take hence your 
great leader, bear him to his last resting-place, carry him gently, lov- 
ingly ; and though you may not hope to attain his exalted rank you will 
strive at least to emulate him by -the integrity of your private life, by 
your devotion to your country, and by upholding the honor of your 
military profession." 



414 THE LIFE OF 

The offices of the church and the soft mournful words of the rev^- 
erend speaker rose and swelled, as mhigling, the martial notes of prepara- 
tion fell strangely, but not harshly, on the ear. For it was fitting that the 
bugle notes should be heard in such a ceremony. The cardinal slowly 
moved back to the chancel and passed into the sacristy. The last word 
had been spoken, and qt a signal a body of grizzled, brown soldiers, 
sergeants and non-commissioned officers, marched up the aisle with 
firm military stride, to the coffin. The pall-bearers formed in line, 
Sherman and Carlisle leading. The coffin was lifted to the soldiers' 
shoulders, and as it moved away the President arose, and the congre- 
gation with him, and stood with bowed heads as it was borne to the 
door. 

The escort had assembled while the funeral services were in prog- 
ress. It formed on H Street facing north, with the foot artillery on 
the right, the cavalry on the left, and the light batteries in the centre. 
Before the completion of the serv-ices the caisson and the general's 
horse were moved to a point nearer the chinch entrance, and after the 
casket had been placed on the caisson the column was formed by 
wheeling to the left, and moved en route far enough to permit the for- 
mation of the column of carriages in the rear. Just before the close of 
the services General Schofield and his aides arranged themselves in front 
of the troops and prepared to receive the funeral party. 

While the services were in progress the caisson was placed In 
a position to receive the casket, and the general's horse was led to a 
place immediately behind. The horse is a dark bay, and was bought 
by General Sheridan in Chicago about four years ago. It was bridled 
and saddled just as when last ridden by the general. The general's mil- 
itary boots were in the stirrups, with the toes pointing backward. 
The animal was led by a tall sergeant in full uniform. All the horses 
used by the general during the war are dead, and "Guy," who was 
used on this occasion, is the animal which had been the longest in 
the general's service as his personal saddle-horse. 

The order of march was as follows : 

A Battalion of Cavalry. 

Two Batteries Light Artillery. 

Marine Band. 

Third Artillery Band. 

Battalion of Foot Artillery. 

Clergy in Carriages. 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 4K 

Pall-bearers in Carriages. 

Body Bearers, Artillery Sergeants. 

Caisson Bearing Remains. 

The General's Horse. 

Mrs. Sheridan and Family. 

Military Staff. 

The President and Mrs. Cleveland. 

The Cabinet. 

The Judges. 

The Congressional Committees. 

Diplomatic Corps. 

Representatives of the Loy'AL Legion and 

Grand Army of the Republic. 

As the body was borne from the church the bell tolled. Soldiers 
stood at present arms, and all the citizens removed their hats. The 
best of order vv^-is preserved, and the crowd seemed inspired by the 
solemnity of the occasion. When all had been arranged, the column 
moved slowly in the direction of the cemetery. 

It was a long journey, and as the Marine Band playing " Nearer, 
My God, to Thee," marched away, the noonday sun came blazing 
down. At half-past ii o'clock the procession started, and it was 
I o'clock exactly when the head of the column came to the Arlington 
Cemeter\-. The route was along Pennsylvania Avenue, around the 
old-fashioned Washington statue, through old-fashioned, medieval 
Georgetown, over the aqueduct bridge, and by red gravelly, wind- 
ing roads, past Fort Myer to Arlington. General Schofield rode 
part of the way in his carriage, but mounted again at the cemetery 
gates. The coi-tege attracted respectful, curious attention, but much 
of the route was through country roads, and wdien the column reached 
the cemetery the men were marching in quick time and looked tired. 
Some of the officers were so weary that they threw themselves on the 
ground under the trees. 

The artillery was massed at the foot of the hill, the guns ready to 
fire. The infantry drew up in line, extending down the slope. The 
grave had been covered with rude scantling, which was torn away as 
the procession advanced. The police and the soldiers formed a square, 
and around the edges of the square was a crowd of two or three thou- 
sand adventurous men, women, and children, who had tramped all the 
way over the red, dusty roads to do honor in their humble way to Sher- 



4i6 



THE LIFE OF 



idan. The caisson bearing his coffin was slowly drawn up to the 
front of Lee's ancient Arlington House. Pall-bearers and friends ad- 
vanced, Sherman, Colonel Grant, and Governor Alger standing at the 
side of the grave. A few paces back was the President. Near were 
George W. Childs, Hawley, and the group of staff officers, Forsyth^ 
and standing nearer the bier, Crook in full uniform, with the face and 
bearing of one of Louis XIV. 's marshals, and at the head of the grave 
the general's family. The priest, Father Foley, with a large com- 
pany of responding priests, recited the offices of the church, chanting 
the " De Profundis." 

Tenderly the coffin was laid in its place. The flag was lovingly 
removed.. The glorious sword of the dead hero, which seemed rusted 
and worn with service, was reverently taken from the coffin by an aide. 
A bugler, one who had served under Sheridan, came to the grave and 
played the old bugle notes of" taps." It was the "good-night" he had 
heard as a boy at the military school, as an officer during his whole 
army life — meaning that the day was ended and the work was done. 
As at the grave of Grant, so at the grave of Sheridan, was the same 
felicitous thought — that the ceremony should end with the old bugle 
notes. The day was ended and the work was done, and all present 
felt, as the music died away and they looked into the new-made grave 
of this captain, whose name will live in far distant ages, that his life 
was cast among the days of noble deeds, and that his great v\^ork was 
well done. 

The bugler was a man of magnificent proportions, with a face 
tarnied and bronzed by much exposure. He stood like a statue, his left 
hand resting on his sabre, his right hanging at full length and holding 
his bugle. Had he been carved out of marble he could not have been 
more motionless. He stood alone, as all had fallen back to be out of 
the range of the rifles. While Bugler Charles Kimball, who had served 
with Sheridan, stood at his old comrade's open grave, the infantry had 
loaded their pieces. " Fire," rang out from the officers, and the sharp 
crack of the rifles awoke the echoes. Twice more this was repeated, 
and then the last ceremony but one had been performed. 

The soldier slept. The grand rounds had been made. The camp 
was hushed in slumber. The signal of" taps " or "lights out" must be 
given by the bugler. When the last echo had died away, Bugler Kimball 
raised the instrument to his lips and sounded the call that every old 
soldier knows so well. The notes rolled out and were caught up by 
the trees and the air and carried away until they gradually faded from 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 417 

mortal ear. It was peculiarly a solemn moment. The weird tones of 
the bugle fell like the wail of a spirit, and the significance of its 
trumpet tones was understood by every one. 

It was the soldiers' last farewell to Philip H. Sheridan. 

The final rite had been performed, and every one turned away except 
General Sherman. He stood on one side and looked into the open 
grave and quietly wiped his eyes. Brave man as he was, he was not 
ashamed to drop a tear in memory of his comrade and companion in 
arms. 

Historic and lovely Arlington ! No more appropriate place could 
be found in the land for a soldier's grave. There are nearly sixteen 
thousand of our heroes lying there. The bodies of Logan, Stanley, and 
Paul rested therein before Sheridan's came to still further sanctify it. 
And in all that patriotic two hundred acres, could a more befitting 
spot be found for General Sheridan's grave than the one in which his 
body is laid? Chaplain Van Home, of the Army of the Cumberland, 
tells a story of the much-loved General George H. Thomas, which is 
appropriate here. When the National Cemetery at Chattanooga was 
being laid out under the chaplain's direction, he asked the general 
how he should an^ange the graves — whether by the states to whose 
regiments the dead belonged, or designate them by their army organ- 
ization. 

" Bury them as they fell fighting for the Union. They aided to 
preserve it," replied the wise-brained and sound-hearted Virginian 
soldier. And Sheridan lies, as it were, at the head of the columns. 

His grave is on the open plateau, a little to the right of Arlington 
House, upon the highest swell in the inclosure, and just where behind 
him, as it were, are the serried grave ranks of those who fought to 
maintain the Union and make all its people free. Not one hundred 
paces from the door of the stately, old-fashioned house, once occupied 
by Robert E. Lee as his home, the new-made grave of the hero who 
harried and fought him to final defeat, swells to the sunlight. 

Here on the brow of the hill, where you have one of the most beau- 
tiful views imaginable, even in picturesque Virginia, Sheridan finds 
rest. As you stand at the grave, Washington lies unrolled as a pano- 
rama : the white winged Capitol, the Washington Monument, the 
national buildings, all form a back-ground to a scene of surpassing beauty. 
There is no place of public vantage in Washington, which may not be 
clearly seen from the grave and the future monument of the illustrious 
general. The wisdom of the Federal government in selecting this 
27 




THE NATIONAL MILITARY CEMETERY, ARLINGTON. 



SHOWING THE GRAVES OF MANY OF THE UNION DEAD. SCENE IN THE SOUTHWESTERN SECTION 

OF THE GROUNDS. 




THE ARLINGTON HOUSE AND CEMETERY. 



THE BURIAL PLACE OF GENERAL SHERIDAN. 



THE eRAVE IS LOCATED ABOUT WHERE THE SHADOW OF THE FOLIAGE IS SHOWN, IN THE LOWER RIQHT-HANO CORNER 

OF THE ENQRAVINO. 



420 THE LIFE OF 

site for the great war cemetery can be best apprehended when standing 
where Sheridan lies. Here amid the graves of so many thousands of 
our soldiers one can see the capital of the Nation — the symbol of that 
unity which they gave their lives to presei-ve. It seems fitting that the 
spirit of Sheridan should be here, forever, as it were, keeping watch 
and ward over the capital he fought so ablv and victoriously to defend 
and save. 

The National Military Cemetery lies on the south bank of the 
Potomac, one mile south of the aqueduct bridge. The estate, of which 
these sacred aci^es once formed a part, belonged to the Custis family, of 
which Martha Washington was a member. It passed into possession 
of the Lees through the general's marriage with the only child of 
George Washington Parke Custis. It is a fit and striking place, in 
association and aspect, for its use. Here under the shade of noble oaks 
lie the remains of 16,364 Union soldiers — white and colored. The 
larger portion of the burials are made in the southwest portion, which 
is very nearly a level plateau covered with groves of wide-spreading, 
ancient trees. The graves are arranged in long, parallel rows, giving 
something of the appearance of marching columns. There are 11,915 
graves of soldiers whose names, companies, regiments, and commands 
are known. On the plateau upon which the manor house stands, is 
a stately sarcophagus covering the remains of 2,211 unknown Union 
soldiers, whose remains wei'e gathered from many fields. There are 
4,349 graves the occupants of which are unknown, and the head-boards 
suitably indicate the melancholy fact. And here, it is plain that 

" The muffled drum's sad roll has beat 
The soldier's last tattoo; 
No more on life's parade shall meet 
That brave and fallen few. 

" Your own proud land's heroic soil 
Must be your fitter grave ; 
She claims from war his richest spoil, 
The ashes of the brave." 

Arlington is indeed a beautiful spot. Its broad, gravel walks and 
smooth green lawns are kept in such perfect order all the time, as is 
only possible in a place under military control. The flower-beds are 
masses of color in their seasons, and the whole aspect of the place is 
one of quiet and rest. The large oaks aflbrd shelter to many a squirrel, 
and these pretty little animals spring about from headstone to headstone, 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 421 

and by their liveliness accentuate the contrast with death, of which the 
turf mounds are ever-present reminders. The old house in which 
generations of the Lees first saw the light and learned to know the mean- 
ing of the word home, stands on the highest part of the estate. It is in 
the stately Greek style so much affected by our revolutionary sires and 
their sons. The house is spacious, and the great portico with its high 
white pillars gives it a large appearance, and commands the landscape 
in conspicuous fashion. 

Sheridan rests among his comrades. He rests in scantified earth, 
made holy alike by its rescue from the degradation of slavery and the 
entombment therein of those who died that the Republic might live. 
What worthier grave could be found for heroic dust.'' What loftier 
memories could be evoked than those which must arise, even to the 
dullest of the many who will stand there, gazing upon the grave of 
Sheridan, and then raising their eyes to take in the wonderful land- 
scape, made glorious with its vast array of memories — sad and som- 
bre, grave and great, as they may be, yet filled forever with cheer to 
those who strive for the betterment of mankind ? Our soldier, whose 
stainless sword was never drawn unworthily, lies where his name must 
be, as long as the Nation lives, a reminder of the nobility of service, 
the exaltation of patriotism, the unquenchable dignity and fame of 
those who nobly labored for both. The historic Potomac rolls its 
waters where the mounds of our heroes swell to the sunlight. Some 
miles below stands a mausoleum, bearing within its walls the ashes of 
Washington. All vessels, of whatever nationality, pay homage to the 
great dead by the solemn toll of their bells as they sail by. May it not 
yet seem fitting, as the sacred shades of Arlington are passed, that the 
dipping of the colors at least will be made the evidences of honor to 
the manes of Sheridan, Logan, Stanley, Paul, and the great, silent 
army of their comrades who lie there in their sentineled mounds.^ 

" Rest on, embalmed and sainted dead, dear is the blood you gave; 
No impious footsteps here shall tread the herbage of your grave ; 
Nor shall jour glory be forgot, while fame her record keeps. 
Or honor points the hallowed spot where valor proudly sleeps. 



Chapter XXXI. 



GENERAL SHERIDAN'S LIFE AND 
CAREER-A REVIEW. 

Sheridan's services — opinions of contemporaries — character ano 

POSITION as a soldier AS A CITIZEN AND MAN A WONDERFUL STORY 

OF GREAT DEEDS A ROMANCE OF WAR — AN HONORABLE AND UPRIGHT 

PERSONALITY — HIS GRAPHIC POWERS AS A WRITER — BADEAu's TESTI- 
MONY BRIEF SPEECHES AT ARMY REUNIONS. 

In closing this volume, it will not be out of place to briefly review 
the career of the great soldier and honored citizen, as well as to give 
some of the contemporaneous opinions of his character, which, follow- 
ing his death, have been given to the world. 

To write of his career is to speak of national forces. To discuss it 
personally involves the growth of a great people. Could such a career 
have occurred anywhere else than in this democratic countr\' ? The 
child of Irish immigrant parents, born in 1S31* in Ohio, his father a 
railroad laborer or sub-contractor, his brothers printers and country 
storekeepers, he is enabled to become a cadet at the National Military 
Academy. Again it may be said, what a career ! At seventeen a 
cadet ; at twenty-two a brevet second lieutenant ; two years later re- 
ceiving his grade ; at thirty commissioned a captain in the Thirteenth 
Infantry, United States Army ; fourteen months later a colonel of 
volunteer cavalry ; thirty-seven days passed, of which thirty-four were 
under fire, and he fought and won a battle with i ,200 men against 7,000, 
— a battle which makes him a brigadier at thirty-two ; four months later 
a division commander and tenaciously holding in a great battle the key 



• Colonel Burr was informed when in Somerset, Ohio, and by the venerable mother of the general 
that her son Philip was born at Albany, New York, March 6, 1S31. There was a difference of opin- 
ion in the town as to this, and it is known also thai Mrs. Sheridan has given at other times Somer- 
set as the birthplace of her famous son. But it was decided to let the last statement stand. These 
inquiries were made for this volume, and before it was known to the publishers that the general 
was preparing his memoirs. Since then General Sheridan himself settled the question by correct- 
ing, shortly before his death, the proofs of a biographical article to be published in Appleton's 
Cyclopaedia. Albany was named by him as his birthplace. R. J. H. 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 42^ 

of the Union position ; three months later still, leading and fighting in 
one of the greatest battles of the Civil War — that of Stone River, for 
his service and ability in which he was made, and before he quite 
reached his thirty-third birthday, a major-general of volunteers. In 
the next twelve months he was a foremost participant in a vast forward 
movement, that of the Tullahoma campaign, ending in the occupation of 
Chattanooga, followed by the terrible battle of Chickamauga ; and still 
later winning the plaudits of commanders, soldiery, and nation by his 
masterly capture of Orchard Knob and the audacious and victorious 
assault on Mission Ridge, in the three-days fighting and victory known 
to Union annals as the battle of Chattanooga. A winter of hard work 
and some fighting, and then ordered East to the command of the finest 
cavalry army that has been organized, equipped, and handled in mod- 
ern days. And what a record of service ! The constant fights and as 
constant victories are to be reckoned by the hundred. Around Rich- 
mond, between May and August, 1864, Sheridan's troopers were ubi- 
quitous. They were a flame of destruction ; a tornado of defeat to the 
rebels ; a very cyclone of victory to the Union cause. In eleven months 
seventy-six battles were fought and won by that cavahy, and Sheridan 
personally participated in sixty-two of them. 

Then came that campaign of massive fighting and magnificent tri- 
umphs, which swept the Shenandoah Valley within three months clear 
of the enemy that had held it almost unbrokenly for three years — a cam- 
paign of five great battles, fought with all arms, and w^on, too, against a 
foe always having a decided advantage in chosen positions. It was a 
campaign of constant struggle, skirmish, sortie, infantry charges, and 
fiercest cavahy encounters. One, too, that w^as so dramatic in charac- 
ter, so heroic in mould, that its commander's name has passed into the 
world's history — become renowned in poesy and painting, and ac- 
cepted finally as that of one of the greatest soldiers of the century. 
Sheridan was not more than half way over his thirty-third year, when 
he received the thanks of Congress and was made a major-general in 
our regular army. It is a record of honors won grandly, only equaled, 
as to the age of him who received them, by that other great soldier, 
to whom Sheridan has sometimes been not inaptly compared — Napo- 
leon Bonaparte. Our soldier was at the very front of his career when, 
within a month after his thirty-fourth birthday, he planned, fought, 
and won the splendid tactical campaign, fierce battle, and complete 
victory of Five Forks. That wonderful " barn door " of devoted human 
lives he so skillfully swung with such terrible and unerring precision 



424 THE LIFE OF 

against Lee's army on that April day of 1865, has made Sheridan 
renowned as the most famous tactician of the Union Army. Then 
came that unerring and relentless pursuit, in whose grip the slave-hold- 
ers' rebellion was at last strangled to death on Saylor's Creek and at 
Appomattox. 

Sheridan was a captain on the 14th of March, 1861. On the 4th 
of April, 1865, he was the youngest of our renowned soldiers, and in 
fame surpassed only by two others — Grant and Sherman ; in rank 
only by Grant. 

As Grant so often said, " Sheridan never failed." That is why the 
general sent him to the Rio Grande, witli the expectation of having 
to lead the way into Mexico in order to destroy the usurping defiance 
of the Monroe doctrine, insolentlv executed while we were struggling 
in the throes of civil war, created by a similar and sinister sympathy of 
despotism. 

Then his career since the clash of arms, was one both notable 
and characteristic. The administration of the turbulent Fifth Mili- 
tary (reconstruction) District, is now acknowledged by friend and foe 
to have been remarkably able, and now his bitterest antagonists rec- 
ognize that he sought within his orders only the maintenance of peace 
and civil liberty. The splendid policy by which, during Grant's terms 
as President, the entire Central and trans-Missouri West was cleared 
of its Indian difficulty, so that the vast material deA'elopment thereof 
made by railroad, mine, ranch, and prairie farm, could go foiward un- 
molested, owes very much of its success to the military skill and ad- 
ministrative sagacity with which Sheridan conducted all the field oper- 
ations, as well as the tribal negotiations. Made a lieutenant-general 
as the first act of Grant's presidential term, his commission being, like 
Sherman's, dated March 4, 1869, Sheridan received the news of his 
promotion to the grade of lieutenant-general while returning from an 
Indian campaign in Kansas. And then came his last promotion — 
that of general. Given by a grateful country while its valiant and 
worthy soldier lay in the darkest recesses of the Valley of Death, it 
was indeed a tribute worthy of a nation and of tlie services of the pub- 
lic servant by whom it was then received. 

The estimation in which Sheridan was held vvliil living, and now 
that he is dead, by those competent to pass judgr.:cnt on him as a 
soldier and man, is such as to accord to him a lofty place among his 
contemporaries. Interviews had with famous German soldiei's illus- 
trate this : 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 42^ 

Count von Moltke is reported as saying : " General Sheridan struck 
me as the type of a thoroughly American general, with all the wonderful 
energy and fertility of resource that characterize the Nation, and prob- 
ably no better cavalry commander has ever taken the field. All the 
armies of Europe have adopted many of the lessons taught by him in 
the tactical use of cavalry." 

General von der Goltz : "I consider General Sheridan one of the 
ablest cavalrv commanders in the world." 

General von Pape, who commands the entire Prussian corps of 
guards says that Sheridan's campaign in Western Virginia is a model of 
the way to handle large masses of cavalry in the warfare of the future. 

Prince Frederick of Hohenzollern says : " The late emperor often 
spoke of him as the man who knew best how to make cavalry horses do 
more work than any other commander ever got out of them." 

General Boulanger, the French soldier of whom Von Moltke is 
said to have allowed that there is something in him, pays, as reported, 
this tribute to Sheridan : "The judgment I personally formed of him 
was that he was a most intellectual man and a most competent soldier." 

The London editorial writers, among other foreign critics, have not 
been chary of discriminating praise of the dead soldier. The writers 
are still biased by their overstrained admiration of the Confederate 
commanders, but some of their expressions in regard to Sheridan will 
bear preservation : 

" General Sheridan," said the Times ^ "' had an eagle eye for pierc- 
ing through the designs of the enemy and for detecting at a glance all 
their weak points." 

" Sheridan," remarked the Mor7iing Post^ "was a man whom his 
enemies admired even while his genius was overcoming their stubborn 
courage." 

The Daily JVeivs., the day after the intelligence of Sheridan's death 
was received, wrote of him that he was " not only the most brilliant 
cavalry officer," of our Civil War, but he was also "both a tactician 
and a strategist, capable of the most extensive combinations, and able 
to carry out far-reaching plans, and he had the nerve, resource, and 
decision for emergencies that were wanting to some of the greatest 
strategists, notably the Archduke Charles." 

The same writer tells that " his warmth of nature and the peculiar 
character of his genius made him loved. He was one of the most sol- 
dierly soldiers of his time. He united brilliant courage, which he owed 
to his Irish origin, to perfect steadiness and presence of mind in emer- 



426 THE LIFE OF 

gencies." There is internal evidence in the News article which points 
to Justin McCarthy as the writer thereof. 

General Sherman has often and again given his opinion of his dead 
comi^ade. In the grief that filled him when his death was announced, 
the old soldier would only allow himself to say, in reply to a question 
put by a New York reporter: "My estimate of Sheridan? I have 
frequently given my estimate of General Sheridan — and the world 
knows what it is — what I thought of his great abilities as a soldier 
and of his character as a man. Sheridan's place in history has long 
been established. His deeds and achievements, with those of Grant, 
Logan, and other great commanders of the Civil War, are familiar 
household words throughout the land. But I have nothing to say now." 

No tribute paid to him professionally and officially, as well from 
man to man, shows more discriminating insight than the words of Mr. 
Endicott, Secretary of War, who declared that : 

" General Sheridan's death is a great loss to the army and to this 
department. I mean as a practical, energetic man of affairs. He had 
a wide experience, gathered during an active military life. He knew 
and understood all the conditions of army life in all parts of the country, 
and of the people with whom our soldiers have to deal, including the 
Indians, in whom he took peculiar interest. He was wise and sagacious, 
and his judgment was marked by readiness in decision and guided by 
shrewd common sense. He had so long held high command, and had 
been attended by such success, that he felt a confidence in his adminis- 
tration of affairs which was rarely at fault. I always found him most 
reasonable and ready to look at all sides of a question, and, for a man 
of such impulses, most open to conviction. As a soldier, he, of course, 
stands quite by himself, differing with a marked and intense individ- 
uality from all our distinguished soldiers. As a cavalry officer he was 
preeminent. The rapidity of his movements, the energy with which 
he inspired officers and men, his unerring instincts on the battle-field, 
led necessarily to great success, that was well deserved. He was very 
interesting and entertaining in social intercourse ; he had a fund of 
anecdote, a variety of information that often was very instructive. His 
experiences in Europe, when he accompanied the German Army to 
France in 1870, were varied and very interesting." 

Major-General Daniel E. Sickles said of Sheridan : " He was a 
great soldier. Sheridan's character impressed itself readily upon his 
command. He gave to his men an intrepidity, a confidence, an audacity 
like his own, which enabled him to get a great deal more work out of 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 427 

ten thousand men than another commander would get from twenty 
thousand. His presence with a command fairly doubled its strength." 

Senator Hawley, of Connecticut, himself a capable soldier, has said, 
among other tributes, that " Sheridan's judgment was as sound as if 
he had been the calmest of men. In private life he was one of the 
sweetest, tenderest, kindest of men," 

Senator Frye, of Maine, declares that " he was one of the most admir- 
able officers I ever knew. I was with him in New Orleans during 
those troublesome days when he was in command. Before that I had 
supposed that he was a somewhat rollicking and adventurous Irish 
leader. My experience with him there satisfied me that he was a man 
of wonderfully sound and cool judgment." 

The New York Sun^ in a very lucid and comprehensive review of 
Sheridan's career, which bears the distinct marks of Editor Charles A. 
Dana's supervision, at least, closes with these words : " It must be said 
in conclusion that he was one of the ablest and most impartial admin- 
istrators the American Army ever had. In recognition of this, no less 
than of his conspicuous sei^vices in the field. Congress and the Presi- 
dent reflected infinite credit upon themselves when they bestowed upon 
him, before his eyes were closed in death, the exalted rank of general, 
as had already been done in turn to his illustrious predecessors, Grant 
and Sherman. He has desei-ved well of the Republic. May his soul 
rest in peace ! " 

Major-General James M. Schofield, who was a classmate of Sheri- 
dan's, and succeeds him in command of the United States Army, is 
reported as saying, among many other tributes to his dead comi-ade, that 
" To me Sheridan was always the beau ideal of a true soldier and a 
really great commander. He is one of the few American officei-s who 
attained high and responsible rank through his natural force of charac- 
ter and his military genius. He was a marked man, even at West 
Point, for he displayed at that early stage of his military life the same 
sterling qualities which subsequently made him a prominent character 
in our national history. . . . Every officer I have ever met, 
whatever rank they might have held, w^ho served under Sheridan in 
the West or the East, have shown by their language that they honored 
and loved him. That is something you cannot say of every man who 
wore the shoulder straps of a general." 

General Daniel Butterfield, who first met Sheridan at Chattanooga, 
says : " He was a great soldier, a fighting soldier. As a leader he has 
never had a superior, in my judgment, in any army, at any time." 



428 THE LIFE OF 

Senator Jones, of Arkansas, said : " I regarded General Sheridan as 
a great soldier." Senator Cockerell, of Missouri, considers that " he 
was one of the greatest cavalry officers, I think, in either army during 
the war. He was, as a man, genial and pleasant, and very popular 
with those who knew him." .Senator Morgan, of Alabama, declared 
that Sheridan "• honored the character of the American soldier and citi- 
zen, and his memory will be cherished with great national pride." 
These are all ex-Confederate officers. One of the most touching trib- 
utes was paid also by Colonel Hooker, Representative in Congress 
from Mississippi, by whom the resolutions of sympathy and honor 
were introduced. 

Thus alike from old-time foe, life-time friend, and the comrades of 
a common cause, comes the general tribute, all paying honor alike to 
man and hero. The list might be indefinitely lengthened. In this 
connection it will not be out of place to quote the opinion ot the 
" Good Gray Poet," Walt Whitman, as a tribute to Sheridan's memory, 
and as an evidence of our national strength : 

" In the grand constellation," the poet wrote, "of five or six names, 
under Lincoln's presidency, that histoiy will bear for ages in her firma- 
ment as marking the last life throbs of secession and beaming on its 
dying gasps, Sheridan's will be one. 

" One consideration rising out of the now dead soldier's example as 
it passes my mind, is worth taking notice of. If the war had contin- 
ued any long time these States, in my opinion, would have shown and 
proved the most conclusive military talents ever evinced by any nation 
on earth. That they possessed a rank and file ahead of all other known, 
in points of quality and limitlessness of number are easily admitted. 
But we have, too, the eligibility of organizing, handling, and officering 
equal to the other. 

" These two, with modern arms, transportation, and inventive 
American genius, would make the United States, with earnestness, not 
able only to stand the whole world, but conquer that world united 
against us." 

General Sheridan himself manifested sensitiveness only on one point 
with regard to the character publicly given him. That was as to his 
having been both " rash and reckless" as a commander. The facts of 
his career amply disprove that judgment. At a dinner given in 1882 
to the Loyal Legion, at which the general was present, he said during 
the evening's chat : 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 429 

" People think I am rash and reckless. I say that there never was 
an officer more prudent than I. I encamped my men well, watched 
their rations and comforts, and when w^e fought the enemy I gave them 
the confidence of victory from my knowledge of the enemy and my 
confidence in the men." 

Senator Plumb has contributed to the public me?noradilia in rela- 
tion to our dead soldier, the following capital reminiscence. The Sen- 
ator, talking with Sheridan, said : 

" ' General, you were in the West before you came East. What was 
your opinion of the Army of the Potomac? You remember it was 
criticised about that time as not doing its share of the work.' 

" 'Oh, the Army of the Potomac was all right,' replied Sheridan. 
' The trouble was the commanders never went out to lick anybody, but 
always thought first of keeping from getting licked.' 

" Sheridan," continued the Senator, " came East when the cavalry 
of the Army of the Potomac was not in good condition, and Grant gave 
him the task of reorganizing it and raising its efficiency. He had 
worked away some time when Meade sent him over the Rappahannock 
on a reconnaissance. Sheridan came back, and in making his verbal 
report referred to a brush he had had with Stuart's cavalry. 

"'Never mind Stuart,' said Meade, interrupting, 'he will do 
about as he pleases, anyhow. Go on and tell me what you discovered 
about Lee's forces.' 

"That made Sheridan mad, and he retorted: 'D — n Stuart; I 
can thrash h — 1 out of him any day.' 

" Meade repeated the remark to Grant, who queried : ' Why didn't 
you tell him to do it ? ' 

" Not long after, sure enough, Sheridan got an order to cross the 
river, engage Stuart, and clean him out. 

" ' I knew I could whip him,' remarked Sheridan, ' if I could only 
get him where he could not fall back on Lee's infantry. So I thought 
the matter over, and to draw him on started straight for Richmond. 
We moved fast, and Stuart dogged us right at our heels. We kept on a 
second day straight for Richmond, and the next morning found Stuart 
in front of us, just where we wanted him. He had marched all night 
and got around us. Then I rode him down. I mashed his command 
and broke up his divisions and regiments and brigades, and the poor 
fellow himself was killed there. Right there. Senator, I resisted the 
greatest temptation of my life. There lay Richmond before us, and 
there was nothing to keep us from going in. It would have cost five 



430 THE LIFE OF 

or six hundred lives, and I could not have held the place, of course. 
But I knew that the moment it was learned at the North that a Union 
army was in Richmond then every bell would ring, and I should have 
been the hero of the hour. I could have gone in and burned and killed 
right and left. But 1 had learned this thing — that our men knew what 
they were about. I had seen them come out of a fight in which only 
a handful had been killed, discontented, mad clear through, because 
they knew an opportunity had been lost, or a sacrifice, small as it was, 
had been needlessly made ; and I had seen them come out good natured, 
enthusiastic, and spoiling for more, when they had left the ground so 
thickly covered with dead that you could have crossed it on the bodies 
alone. They realized that, notwithstanding the terrible sacrifice, the 
object gained had been worth it. They would have followed me, but 
they would have known as well as I that the sacrifice was for no per- 
manent advantage.' " 

Senator Plumb added : " That exhibits the man and the com- 
mander. He aimed to win and keep the confidence of his men, and 
he did it. He fought for results and not for glory." 

In a recent letter to the press, General Badeau has given expression 
to some views of Sheridan's characteristics which help to round out 
our conception of the strong but simple man, whom Badeau has known 
so well. He writes : 

'' I have seen scores of the letters of Sheridan to Grant, and he 
wrote not a few to me, on points connected with his own military his- 
tory. They were often short, and at times almost rugged, but invari- 
ably to the point, full of meat, and sometimes extremely felicitous in 
expression, like his ringing dispatches from the valley : ' We sent 
them whirling through Winchester ! ' ' I deemed it best to make a 
delay of a day to settle this new cavalry general.' 'They were fol- 
lowed by our men on the jump twenty-six miles.' He had a large 
share of that power of expression which men of great executive ability 
often possess when they approach subjects in which they are interested. 
He knew what he meant and what he wanted, and he could say it, not 
only so that a child could understand, but often with positive eloquence. 
"Whenever the correspondence between Grant and Sheridan dur- 
ing the reconstruction period is published it will prove all that I say. 
That correspondence was secret. Grant's letters were not copied in 
the ordinary letter books. They were seen by none of the clerks and by 
few of the oificers at the headquarters of the army. I retained single 
copies of them at the time, and when Grant became President I copied 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 431 

these into a book, which, for some reason, was not turned over to the 
War Department ; but the first drafts or rough copies he gave to me, 
and told me they might serve as material for a political memoir. All 
that were of importance I have already so used, but Sheridan's replies 
have not yet been given to the world. They will demonstrate the ulti- 
mate character of the relations of Grant and Sheridan, the complete 
harmony in their feeling and the accord in their judgment on a sub- 
ject which they had never discussed in spoken words ; for one was in 
Washington and the other in New Orleans before the Louisiana diffi- 
culty arose, and they did not meet after this until Sheridan had been 
relieved. 

" I consulted Sheridan frequently in the course of my historical 
labors, and he gave me all the assistance I asked, but desired me not to 
name him as authority in political matters. He did not wish to be in- 
volved in political controversies, especially while he was serving under 
a Democratic administration ; but he promised to furnish me all the 
facts in his possession, and he kept his word. After the appearance of 
Grant in Peace^ he assured me that he would never contradict or give 
cause to contradict any statement that it contained. 

" When he saw the picture I tried to make of himself for my mili- 
tary history, he objected to my saying that he swore, and I struck out 
the statement ; but he allowed me to describe him as rising in his 
stirrups and swinging his hat in the famous ride from Winchester. He 
was loathe, however, to go down to history as a mere Murat, and 
naturally so, for he was much more the cavalry leader. Still, he had all 
the passion and magnetism that are so irresistible with troops. I have 
often been told that on the great ride his face was fairly black with the 
rage of battle, and he cried out again and again : ' We'll lick 'em out 
of their boots, boys ! we'll lick 'em out of their boots !' He was all 
the more a general because he shared and inspired the feeling of his 
soldiers. 

" I shall never forget how he looked on the day of the surrender of 
Lee. His troops had outmarched the great Southern leader, and fairly 
surrounded him at last ; but when this was discovered, Lee sent word 
that he was negotiating with Grant for a surrender, and asked for a 
suspension of hostilities. Sheridan had heard nothing of the nego- 
tiations, and feared the report might be a ruse of Lee. At this 
moment I happened to ride up, and Sheridan, supposing I had come 
from Grant, asked eagerly if the story was true. He was pacing up 
and down in a piece of a farm yard that looked like a pig-pen, and I 



432 THE LIFE OF 

could not but think how like his action was to that of a wild beast in a 
cage. His face flamed, and he clinched his fist as he said to me : ' I've 
got 'em, d — n 'em, I've got 'em like that,' and his nails were doubled 
into his palm." 

The same article contains the following letter : 

April II, 1885. 
Headquarters Army of the 
United States, Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Badeau : I am requested by the commissioners of the 
Soldiers' Home to forward to you the accompanying letter to be 
delivered in case of the death of General Grant from his present ill- 
ness, and request you to fill in the proper date. 

We will select the most agreeable and commanding site on the 
grounds of the home. 

It is unnecessary for me to use words to express my attachment to 
General Grant and his family. I have not gone to see him, as I could 
only bring additional distress. Then I want to remember him as I 
knew him while in good health. With kind regards, yours truly, 

P. H. Sheridan. 

In action Sheridan was extraordinary. Almost insignificant in 
appearance when on foot, when on horse-back he became conspicuous 
in any body of mounted men. He could be as calm as a brazen figure, 
or as fluid and flashing as a stream of molten metal. He would choose, 
when a battle began, a rising piece of grovmd, from which he could 
survey the whole field. He sat his saddle like a centaur ; there was no 
better horseman in the American Army ; — and he knew his horse also. 
Sitting silent, his wonderful gray eyes — so capable of expressing every 
emotion, passion, power known to man — would see every phase of the 
conflict. They would glow, burn, flash — until at a critical moment 
he would dash forward, galloping direct to where he was needed. It 
was a sight, indeed, to see him ride swiftly along the lines just before a 
chai'ge and raise the troops' enthusiasm to fever heat. Then his cheek 
glowed with excitement, his eye grew bright, and there was a magnetic 
influence about him which extended itself to every one in the ranks. 
At such moments he seemed transformed, and it was no wonder that 
his troops afterward moved with steadiness and determination into the 
vortex of flame that awaited them. 

As a practical soldier, it is doubtful if any army ever had a better 
one. He readily, almost, as it were, instantaneously, mastered the 
topography of the region in which he was operating. He was never 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 4^^ 

surprised. In any army he always piovecl on consultation to be better 
informed than any one else. He had the best of scouts — men who were 
ready to dare anything at his orders or request. He provided for his 
troops amply and always the best there wasto be had, in commissariat 
or country, and he proved himself to be an admirable tactician — that, 
too, in the most scientific sense of the term. He was equally at home 
in handling every arm of the service, though he delighted most in 
handling the cavalry, to whose capacity for real warfare he gave in- 
creased value. While a firm but not extreme disciplinarian, he never 
expected impossibilities, or failed to remember that he was dealing 
with men to whom martial service was but an episode in citizenship. 
Personally, S^pridan was a lovable man — irascible and hot-tempered 
at times — but aiming to be just, and always ready to acknowledge a 
vv^rong or harsh judgment. He was honest, wholly truthful, generous, 
and fearless, raorallv, as well as physically. In private life most de- 
voted to his home, his wife, and his beloved children. Among his 
personal friends and intimates — a limited circle, perhaps — he was 
generally cheerful and companionable. He was always as modest as 
he was brave, and was not readily drawn to talk of himself or his own 
career and actions. He was not a great reader, but he knew well 
what he did read. Cfertainly he was not neglectful of his books, and 
of late years, and especially since residing in Washington, his library 
became more of a social companion. He was a lover of Shakespeare, 
and could quote aptly on occasion. 

A faithful member of the chief army associations, the Loyal Legion, 
of which he was the commander, and the Grand Army of the Republic, 
General Sheridan was a faithful attendant on the reunions which make 
each year so worthy a feature of our reminiscent life. He has spoken 
several times to such bodies. 

General Horatio C. King, the secretary of the Society of the Army 
of the Potomac, United States Army, so favorably known as a writer 
on military matters, as well as a soldier in the field, speaks of his 
former commander in terms that deserve permanent record. " I first 
, met General Sheridan," he says, "on reporting to him for duty in 
October, 1864. Sheridan at that time was about thirty years of age 
[he was in his thirty-fourth year] ; short in stature, lithe, active, straight 
as an arrow, and every inch a soldier. He sat in the saddle as if he 
were welded to the animal he rode. He had a bright, piercing eye, a 
firm yet elastic tread, and was alert, quick, and energetic in every inove- 
ment. He was our Marshal Ney, and inspired the most complete con- 

38 



434 THE LIFE OF 

fidence. Men fight better when they know that the man who leads 
them has the abihty to extricate them from sudden and unforeseen diffi- 
culties. We had many soldiers who were good at a dash in carrying 
out instructions, but miserably failed when they ran against obstacles 
not anticipated in the plan of procedure. Sheridan, though brave to 
recklessness, was never rash. He comprehended the situation before 
he made his dispositions. He was swift to plan and to execute, and 
was, in fact, the beau ideal of a brilliant soldier. No officer was 
more beloved by his troops. He often spoke at the meetings of the 
Society of the Army of the Potomac." 

Like Grant and Wellington, Sheridan never considered himself a 
speaker, yet he could express, among his former comrades especially, 
in a terse and happy manner the fitting thoughts for the occasion. His 
little speeches to the Society of the Army of the Potomac are all 
worthy the preservation the records give. 

He was present at the Boston reunion in 1S73, and said happily to 
his comrades at that gathering : 

" We must remember that at one time the country depended upon 
us, and was obliged to call on us as a higher court, when all other 
courts had failed, to decide whether the Republic should live or die. 
We ought to feel proud of the future we have given to the country. 
In the last ten months I have heard continual allusion to the state of 
our Republic, and in Europe they look forward to the future of this 
country as the future which belongs to Europe as well." 

He had but recently returned from Europe, where he had witnessed 
the great struggle between the German and French. He had studied 
widely and closely also, and his words then have a significance beyond 
the day on which they were uttered. 

The year before, at the Cleveland reunion, the general responded to 
the toast of " The Cavalry." General Sheridan said : 

" I don't know why I should be selected to respond for the cavalry, 
unless it is the fact, you know, that I did belong to the cavalry at one 
time, but at the same time I must say I was rather cosmopolitan. I 
not only belonged to the cavalry, but belonged to almost everything 
else. I once even belonged to the engineer corps, and corduroyed more 
bridges about Shiloh than any man 1 know of. After a while I came 
into the cavalry and traveled from the West to the East, and I can assure 
you, comrades of the cavalry, that there is no event of my life that I 
look back to with so much pride as my connection with the cavalry." 

There is in these remarks a pleasant confirmation of General 



GEN. PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 43^ 

Badeau's testimony that Sheridan desired to be rated as an all-round 
soldier. And he was undoubtedly a man of military genius in the 
largest sense of the term. The fact that from the very outset of his 
real military activity he gave an importance to the handling of mounted 
masses not before achieved, shows this conclusively. His generalship 
is a matter of universal recognition. 

There is a world of meaning in the earnest words he addressed to 
the Army of the Potomac at the reunion held at Philadelphia, in 1S78. 
They embody the advice of an earnest citizen as well as the words ot 
an honest soldier, mindful of the noble cause for which he fought, and 
of the high character of the Nation whose soldier he was. They are to 
be read, not only for what is actually said, but for the unexpressed feel- 
ing the trenchant, well-considered words convey, as well for the spirit, 
also, of comradeship. It was the Centennial year, also : 

" I want to see the government secure, and the cause for which we 
fought secure. I consider that we are here as the guardians of the honor 
of the men who now lie sleeping on many battle-fields, and that it is 
our duty to maintain the cause for which they died. Now I do not 
want any more war. I am the last man in the world, you know, to 
want war. But I think the best way to keep it from coming is not to 
be so forgiving as we are. I do not ask for anything, I do not want 
to be elected to any ottice, but I would like to keep what I have got. 
There is no danger but General Sherman will live longer than I will, 
so I have nothing to hope for in the succession. I will tell you one 
thing — I never yet have heard a single address by any one in this army 
society that I thought embodied what the society most wanted to hear. 
They all want to talk about the cause which led to the war, and about 
emancipation, and all such things. We do not care about hearing that. 
It is all over. The problem is worked out. What we now want to 
hear is something about our old comrades and about the battles we 
fought, and the good times we had, and the bad times we had — and 
things of that kind." 

At New Haven in 1878, he said at the reunion : 
" I have a few earnest words to say to you, comrades. I have 
remarked during the day that we are thinning out. Every year some 
of us go ; we are all going, you know — we must go sometime — 
and it seems to me that every succeeding year ought not to allow any 
troubles which may come up or which may have existed heretofore to 
destroy the good feeling that we ought to have for each other. If I had 
anything against anybody heretofore belonging to this army, I would 



436 THE LIFE OF 

just like to shake hands with him now. One thing you can depend 
upon, there is nobody belonging to this army that can get up any quar- 
rel with me." 

And General Sheridan never had a dispute with any one, in or out 
of the Army of the Potomac, over any event or action in which he was 
a participant. 

In a pertinent, if brief address at the Burlington, Vermont, reunion 
of iSSo, he gave a comforting assurance, as a military expert, which is 
worth while remembering. In responding to the toast of the " Army 
and Navy," the general said : 

" There are about three millions of men in the United States be- 
longing to the army and navy. I think it is unnecessary to count the 
little fraction of the regular army that exists now, or of the navy, because 
they would be nothing but a nucleus in case the country was required 
anew to engage in war. I hope no war will ever happen that will call 
out the entire number of men we can turn out in this country. I do not 
believe such a war will ever occur. We have the ocean as a fortifica- 
tion. It would take more than all the shipping in Europe to bring 
men sufficient to this country to make one campaign. I mean all the 
shipping of Europe, unmolested, if it were permitted to sail, couldn't 
carry men and material sufficient for one campaign, to meet the force 
we coidd command. It would take more than all Europe could do." 

A moi*e recent speech was made in 1886, at Creston, Iowa. The 
speech was wholly impromptu, and there was, fortunately, a good 
stenographer present. General Sheridan's manner was easy and his 
speech flowed unembarrassed. He said : 

" Comrades, I came here to-day to see you and talk with you and 
skake hands with you, while Colonel Carr and others, you know, 
came here to make eloquent addresses for you to listen to. I think he 
has been too eulogistic of me in his remarks. It is true that I fought in 
almost everybody's army, from Pea Ridge to Appomattox, and although 
I fought with cavalry and infantry and on every line of operation, and 
always had to change and take new men on new lines, I was very suc- 
cessful. I went through all the grades they had in the volunteer ser- 
vice, and then I commenced and went through all the grades in the 
regular service, and the date of every commission that I have is the 
date of a battle. Now I want to say to you, comrades, this — that I am 
indebted to the private in the ranks for all this credit that has come 
to me. [Applause, long, and continued.] 

" He was the man who did the fighting ; and the man who carried the 
musket is the greatest hero of the war, in my opinion. I was nothing 



GEN. PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 437 

but an agent. I knew how to take care of men. I knew what a soldier 
was worth, and I knew how to study the country so as to put him in 
right. I knew how to put him in a battle when one occurred, but I 
was simply the agent to take care of him, and he did the work. Now, 
comrades, these are common-sense things, and I can't say them in very 
flowery language ; but they are true, nevertheless, and they are true, not 
of me alone, but of everybody else. It is to the common soldier that 
we are indebted to any credit that came to us. 

" I am glad to see you here to-day, gentlemen, and I am glad to be 
with you on this occasion. There are many here to-day who served in 
the field with me, and it is a great pleasure to me to find them out, 
and they have been very kindly in their remarks to me. While they 
were with me I certainly did all I could for them. I often laid awake 
planning for their welfare, and I never killed a man unnecessarily. One 
great trouble with men who command troops is that they kill men un- 
necessarily. You may kill as many men as you choose if vou give 
them an equivalent for the loss. Men do not like to be killed for 
nothing ; they do not like to have their heads rammed against a stone 
wall unless for some good results. Those are the points I made during 
the war. Whenever I took men into a battle I gave them victory as 
the result of the engagement, and that was always satisfactory." 

A soldier's speech that — aptly expressing the feelings of men and 
commanders alike. A longer, more finished, and quite a notable 
address was that delivered before the graduating class at West Point, in 
June, 1887. This dealt with the life of the graduates, their obligations, 
and the duties they owe to their profession and the country. General 
Sheridan could tell a good story, and tell it well. Among his army 
friends he was quite apt to do so. His dispatches, reports, and other 
oflScial papers show him to have possessed a simple and direct style of 
writing, which became rather racy and epigrammatic on occasion. 

A strong, simple man this — very human withal, and close to our 
common life. The genuine child of democracy, he honored it by his 
deeds, made it more glorious by his services, and proved that once felt 
in a man's blood and brains, democracy contains the civic philter which 
cures even the lofty if cruel ambition that history has too often identified 
with a soldier's successful career. In the American Democracy Sheri- 
dan's life, like Grant's and Sherman's, with all their comrades', gives us 
proof that the equality of man before the law is the very best guarantee 
that under the law the loftiest service, the bravest deeds, the most daring 
of intellectual activity, must all tend steadily to the common advantage 
— to the uplifting and glory alone of the Commonwealth. 



INDEX. 



Aaron, Barney, 357. 

Abell, Judpre E., removed from 

office, 339. 
Academy of the Visitatiou. 371. 
Alabama, 97. 

Northern, 147, 155. 
Alaska. Purchase of, 323. 
Albany. N. Y., Sheridan's birth- 
place, 23. 
Alcott, Louisa M., at Nouquit, 376. 
Aldermen of New Orleans removed 

from office, 340. 
Alg-er. General B. A., 46-49, 55, 61, 
158, 182, 250, 225. 

At St Matthew's, 408. 
At the gi-ave, 416. 
Alleg-hany Mountains, 125. 257. 
Allison, Senator, at St. Matthew's, 

407. 
Amelia Court House, 290 293. 
Anderson. Captain H. B.. in com- 
niaud of Guard of Honor at 
Sheridan's funeral, 390. 
Anderson's Farm, 109. 
Anderson, General E. H., 73, 88, 

13,5, 158, 160 
Appalachian Mountains, 77, 110, 123, 

300. 
Appomattox, 20, 239, 287, 289. 290, 294, 

29.=). 297, 300, 317, 321, 424. 
Appomattox, Surrender at, 301, 
303. 

Court House, 248, 266. 
.\raphdes, 345. 
Arkansas, 155. 

Department of, 321. 
Arlington, 308, 417,421. 
Arlington, Cemetery of, 382, 406. 

Procession to, 415. 
Army Corps, Third, General Gil- 
bert, 70. 74. 

First, General A. D. McCook, 

70. 
Twentieth, McCook, 76. 
Fourteenth, 78. 
Tenth, T. L. Crittenden, 

80-90 
Fifth. 270,271, 282, 286, 289, 

290. 292. 
Fourteenth, 102, 108, 114, 116, 

128, 321. 
Nineteenth. 257. 
Ninth, 126, 288. 
Second, 284, 291, 294. 
Seventh, 322. 

Sixth, 257, 285, 286, 291, 292. 
Twenty-fifth, 288. 
Twenty-first, 114. 
Twenty-fourth, 284. 
Twentieth, 108, 114, 115, 116, 
118. 
Army of the Border. Union, 320. 

Of the Cumberland, 94, 97, 
106, 110, 111, 120, 124, 12.5, 128, 
130, 135, 147, 148, 150, Lod, 156, 
343 
Of the James, 283, 321. 
Of the Mississippi, 97. 
Of the Ohio, 125, 155. 
Of the Potomac. 113, 124, 153, 

155, 156, 157. 158, 364. 
Of the Southwest Missouri, 

41 44 
Of tte Tennessee, 113, 125, 126, 
145, 147, 155. 



Army of Missouri, Confederate, 
under Price, 41. 

Of Virj?inia, 311. 

Of Virginia, Last charge of 
the, 294. 
Arthur, President, 359, 368. 
Artillery : 

Eig-hth Indiana Battery, 117. 

Flood's Battery, 99. 

Fifth Ohio Battery, 103. 

Third Artillery, 396. 
Asboth, General, 52, 64, 66. 
Ashby, Turner, 305, 306, 313. 
Ashby's Gap, 258. 
Ashland. 162, 265. 
Athens, Tenn., 127. 
Atlanta, Ga., 107, 108, 114, 136, 177, 179. 
Augusta, Ga., 258. 
Austrian-French Invaders, 322. 
.\verill, Brigadier-General, 153. 171, 
175, 182, 186, 195, 202, 240, 242, 252, 
257, 260, 311. 
Averv, Captain, 132. 
Aylett's. 163. 
Ayres, General, 270 271, 276, 278. 

Babcock, Colonel, 301. 

Badeau, General Adam, 145, 153, 265, 

267, 301, 318, 352, 430,432, 435. 
Baird, Major-General Absalom, 97, 

108,116,125.128, 130, 134, 135, 335, 

336. 
Baldwin, Colonel, 103. 
Baldwin, Miss , 64, 66. 
Baltimore, 176. 
Banks, General, 97, 106, 125, 1.55, 157, 

331. 
Bardstown, Ky., 71. 
Barlow, 165. 

Barnard. General, 248, 301. 
Barringer, Brigadier-General Eu- 

fus, 168, 169. 
Bartlett, General, 271, 278. 
Bate, General, 136. 
Bate's Brigade. Confederate, 103. 
Battle above the Clouds. 129. 
Battle-flag of General Sheridan's 

Corps, 401. 
Baxter, 278. 
Bayard, General Geo. D., 241, 311. 

Secretary, at St. Matthew's. 
408. 
Baylor, 328. 

Bazaiue. Marshal, 322, 323. 
Beatty, 90. 

Beatty's Brigade, 109. 
Beaumont. Battle of. 350, 353. 
Beauregard, General P. G.. 38, 46, 

52, 53. 66, 173, 305. 
Beaver Dam, 162, 263. 
Belle Grove, 219, 221. 

Isle. 254. 
Bells tolled at way stations, 395. 
Belmont, Representative Perry, 362. 
Beraske, Corporal, 390. 
Bermuda Hundred, 172, 258. 
Berryville. 187, 193, 258. 
Big Thunder. 359 
Birney, General. 186. 
Bismarck, Prince. 350, 352, 354. 
Blair, General C. H., 125, 238, 365. 

Austin, Governor, of Michi- 
gan, 47, 48. 63, 182. 
General F. P., 65. 
Blake, Corporal, 390. 



Bloody Angle, 1S3. 
Blue Eidge, 123, 257, 2)8, 260, 261. 
Blunt, Colonel, at Nonauit,393,394. 
Major-General James G., 167, 

238, 320, 322, 345. 
Stanhope, 360. 
Bolivar Heights, 142. 
Bonaparte, Napoleon, 183. 

Sheridan compared to, 423. 
Bonsai, Mrs. McP., 198. 
Booneville, Miss , 49, 52, 65, 237,254. 
Booth, Wilkes, 317. 
B<jttom's Bridge, 163. 
Boulanger, General. 425. 
Bowers, Colonel T. S., 301. 
Boweryman, 278. 
Bowling Green, 163. 
Boydton road, 269, 270, 271, 273, 275, 

286. 
Boyle, General T. J., 67, 97, 125. 
Boyuton, General H. V., 130, 131, 

132, 135. 
Bradford Island, 36, 37. 
Bradbury, Captain, 196. 
Bragg. General, 70, 130, 147, 148. 
Bragg's Defeat, verse, 96. 
Branuan, General, 104, 106, 115-118, 

125. 
Branson, W. W. conductor, 395. 
Brashtou Lawj'er, 24. 
Breckenridge, General John B., 78, 

82, 115, 116, 135, 176. 
Brideeport, 106, 108, 113,114, 124, 125, 

127. 
Briggs, Colonel, 252, 295, 296. 
Brock road, 160. 
Brooks Gap, 243. 
Brother.^, Dominican, 408. 
Brown. John, 187. 
Brown's Ferry, 126, 129. 
Brownsville, Texas, 321, 322, 323, 324, 

326, 329 
Bryantsville, Ky., 71. 
Buchanan, Sergeant, 390. 
Buckner, General, 73, 74, 106, 109. 
Buell, General Don Carlos, 42, 64-74, 

145, 310. 
Buford. General. 158, 311. 
Bull Run Mountain, 253. 

Virginia. 322. 
Bunker Hill. 19.3-195. 

Breastworks of, 369. 
Burkes Station, 173. 
Burksville, 290. 
Burlington, Vt., 4.36. 
Burnside, General A. E„ 106, 107, 112, 

113, 124-127, 136, 148, 158, 164, 165, 

172, 177.178,240,251. 
Burr, Colonel F. A., 298. 
Butler, General B. F., 163, 172, 177, 

331. 
Butler. Major-General M.C., 168, 169. 
Btatterfield, General Daniel, 355, 427. 
Byran, Colonel T. M., Jr., 158. 

Cairo. 124. 

Campbell, Captain, 54; Colonel, .364. 

Camp Supply, Tragedy at, 372. 

Wildcat, 76 
Canby, Colonel, 36, 40, 2.59. 
Capehart. Ci>lonel, 260. 
Caperton's Ferry, 107, 108. 
Carlin, C >lonel, 73, 104. 
Carlisle, Speaker, 405, 408, 414. 
Carlton, 328. 



440 



NDEX. 



('artor, OoIoikO, 97, 2'2'2. 
(Jartor'H CrociU. 1(«) 1. 
(liirtliaKe, 'riiuii.. UK). 
tJascadcH, Ore . 3H. 
{JaBHcll, Sam. '27. 
CaKtlt-'I'lmiHlcM-. 2r>4. 
OatllnrI^in's I'liniace, 160. 
Oatti'll'sOap road, Uti. 
Oavalrv: 

Kiftli Cavalry, .')«. 

Ii'irst Cavalry Division, 260. 

First (loloi'ailo Vuluiitepr 

Cavalry. •'!-«■ 
FlrHt Viiviiiia Cavalry, 312. 
Foiirlli (iavalry.HDB 
P. M. H (5avali-y, 148. 
Second Iowa Cavalry, £2. 
Second MicliiRau Cavalry, 

45, 48, •!!». ft'J, 64. 
Soventh MichiKan Cavalry, 

295. 
Tenth Cavalry, Mi. 
Third Cavalry Division, 260. 
Cedar Crook, 168, 18:{, 2o:i, 206, 218, 

219, 221, 229, 2H0, 248, :ill, 364, .'iyl. 
Centennial Year. 4;)o. 
Centervillo, 99, 258. 
Central Hill, Soniorville, Battery 

on,;{H9. 
Oetieo Crovk, 127. 128. 
ChaliiiorH, (icjieral J. R., 61, 62, 61, 

64, 89, 90 25:). ;!05, .S06, :tlU. 
Chanilierliiiu. Ocneral, 271, 274, 278. 

Miijdi-. 177. 
Chanibcr.shiirK. i'onn., 180. 
Chaniblis, UriKadior-Oenerul J. U., 

168. 
Chaplin's Creek, 72, 74. 

Hills, 72, 77. 
Ohapman, Colonel Geo. H., 158. 
Charles, Arcliduke, 425. 
Charleston, 187, 19:!, 268, 259. 
Charlottes, 99. 
Charlottesville, 161, 170, 172, 206, 260, 

261, 264. 
Chattanooga, 69, 77. 80, 97, 98, 104 129, 

i:{6. I li) 148, 15(1, 155, 169, 423. 
Cheatham, ( Iniiu-al, 19, 72. 73, 80, 85-88 

115. 116, i;i5. :!ll. 
CheroliiH' Country, 322. 
Cherokces. Land sold by, .347. 
Chestertic'ld, Iti,!. 
Chester tJap. 258. 
Cheyenues, .345, 347. 
ChieaKO, 214, 354, 367, 358, 360, 361. 

]''ire, ,349. 
Chiekahominy, 52, 162, 163, 248, 249, 

309. 
ChlckaniauK-a, hl9, 114 127. 131, 134, 

136, 147, 148, 159, 167. 172, 364, 423. 
Chihuahua, M((xico, 326, 327, 328. 
Childs, Goor.ire W., ut Hheridan's 
funeral, 408, 

At thoKravo, 416. 
ChivlnRton, Colonel, attacks th<! 

KiowHS, 346. 
Christie, Deputy SeriJ:eant-at- Anns, 
acts as marshal at Sheridan's 
funeral, 407. 
Cincinnati, 156,2:10. 
City Point, 172, 173, 185, 186, 203, 26:!, 

2.59. 265, 266. 267, 269, 286. 
Claibornii road, 289. 
Cleburne, (ieneral I'atrick, 73, 83, #6, 

87, 91, 103, 115. 117,306. 
<;ievelaud, Presidint, 368. 

Sends niessatro of condo- 
lence to Mrs. Sheridan, 
.384, 
A n no nnces Sheridan's (lea til 

to ('oMKress, 385 
Sends u lloral tribute, 40.",. 
And wit" attend Sheridan's 

funeral, 406, 
And family at St. Matthew's, 
408, 4119. 
Cloud, <leneral,238. 
Clous. Major J. '^'., .348. 
Coburn, Colonel 99, 100. 
Cockerell, Senator, 428. 



Cole. Ma.)or Henry A.. l.'!8, 143. 
(!ole's Ciivalrv, 137, 138, 139, 140, 144. 
Cole's l<"erry, 172. 
Columbia Furiuice. 243. 
(/olumbia Kiver. 36. 
(Jolumbia, S. C.,258, 262. 263, 265. 
(!old Harbor, 168, 163, 164,165, 171,250. 
ConiaiiclieH, 345. 
Confederate! cavalry, 304, 306. 
Fla^r ol truce, 295. 
Loss .'It Slonc lUver, 97. 
President, KliKht of, 317. 
War Department, 98. 
Conference to arrange terms of 

surrender, 30ii. 
Conij'resH ail.lourus. 387. 
Conrad, Ma.ior- llnlmcs. 246. 
Consul to HouLT Kou^f, :i14. 
Conveyuii,' the dead general to 

Wasliinrt :!93, 

Cooke, liri^'adicr-di'iK^ral Philip St. 

GeorLTe, 238, 240, 310, 311. 
Cooley, JJenJaniin P., 203, 
Cooi)er'8 Puss, Lookout Mountain, 

114. 
Corbin's Pridtre, 159. 
Corinth, Sic^c of. 18, 43, 46, 46, 52,65, 

66 i;9, 1(16, 121, 148. 
CorlinaH, 323,324,326. 
(Joultor, 278. 

Court House road, 269, 273. 
(Jo wan. 105. 

Cox. Ma.lor General J. D., .302. 
Crab Or. hard. 76. 77. 
" Criuldiii'k. Ch.uies ICKbort." Miir- 

fnu'shoro', Miss ,94. 
Craivr, S , llaK-man,396. 
CrawOsh Spring. 114, 116. 
Crawford, (ioneral 270,271,276,277, 

278, 289. 
Crawford, S. J., Kx-Govornor, 344, 

345. 
Creston. Iowa, 436 
Crittenden, Mu,1or-General T. L., 

71, 76, 80, 97, 1U4. 109, 114, 115, 116, 

120. 
Cro(^ker. General. HI. 
Crook, General Georw, 97, 153, 158, 

171, 17r., 179, 186. 194. 195.197,202, 

207, 240, 2.")0. 257,2/2. 2S;!, 290, 291, 

292, 29:i, 294, .300, 313, 416. 
Crosby. Schuyler, 348, 408. 
Crilft, (ieM(Mal,9l, 116. 129. 
Culpepper. 206, 217, 258. 
Cumbi<T'l:in(l, Ihii. 

Mountains, 104. 105. 112, 113. 

123. 
Department of, 78, 101. 
Gap, 68, 76. 
lliver. 77, 111. 
('urtis, Major-General Samuel U., 

41,42,43,44,(18, 156. 304, .320, .322. 

359. 
Custer, General G(>or^'e A, 20, 24, 

158, 160, 172, 182, IM6. 210, 210, 243, 

244,246, 247, 25ii, 25:;, 26ll, 261. 262. 

26;i, 272, 274 275, 279, 282, 293-297, 

.302, 303, 307,311, 313,359,364. 
Ciistis family. The. 420. 
Cut Mouth John, Indian scout, 37. 

Dabuey's Mill, 267. 286 
Dahlnrren, Ulrlc, 158, 240, 263, 254. 
Dakota, 358, 3.">9. 
Dana, Charles A., 126, 128, 187, 215, 

261, 427. 
Daney's farm, 271. 
Danville road, 290. 

Kentucky, 71, 293, 294. 
Davies, General H E., 158, 182, 187, 

253, 291. 
Davis. .leffersou, 89, 239, 262, 254, 262, 
263, 306. 

Colonel G. W., at St. Mat- 
thew's, 40H, 
General .Tctf C„ 65, 82, 83. 86, 
87. 91. 99, 102. 104, 107, 108. 
116, 116. 117, 118, 125. 
Dawes, Senator, at St. Matthew's, 
407, I 



Day, Corporal. 390. 
Dayton, Ohio. 203. 
DeariuK. W, 11, F,. 168. 
Dcatonsville. 29!. 
Decatur. Alabama. 69, 148. 
DeepJJottom, 177. 178. 
Creek. 290. 291. 
Democracy. American, 4.37. 
Dent, Colonel F. T., 301. 
Departments: 

Of Louisiana, 321. 
Of Ohio. 112. 
Of lh(i Gulf. 125, 
Of the Northwe.-it, .322, 
Desidiai-d, General, 104. 10.5. 106. 
Devon, General Thomas C, 158. 182, 

1^6, 21U, 253. 260, 262, 263,272. 274, 

294. 
Dickinson, Secretary, at St. Mat- 
thew's, 408. 
Dinwiddle Court House. 248, 269, 

270. 272. 273. 281, 286, 286, 289. 
Doaiio. J. W., 3,57. 
Doitor's Creek, Ky., 72. 
Dodf^o, General G. M., 127, 148. 
•• DoK-Soldiors," The, 346. .346, 347. 
Dolph, Senator, at St. Matthew's, 

407. 
Doniphan's Missouri Command, 

326. 
Donovan, BriKadier General John, 

168. 
DouMTlas, Colonel. 99. 
Drum Harracks, Wilmington, 

Southern {California, 328. 
Dry Valley, 125. 

Uoad, 116,118. 
Du(dj Kiver, 100, 112. 
Dutlie. General A. N., 253. 
Diiwnidsvillo, 262. 
Duke, 2:!K. 255, 3U6, 311. 
DuranI, Thomas J., 839. 
Durell, JudKe,;i32. 

EaK'leville, 99. 

Early, General Jubal A.. 168, 171, 176, 
177, 179, 181, 182, 183, 185, 186, 195, 
202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 218, 220, 222, 
229, 267, 260, 261, 265, 299, 312, :il3, 
346. 

Kastport, Miss., 259. 

Kctor. 91. 

KilK-elicld Junction. 78. 

lOdmunds. Senator, of Vermont, of- 
fers a reMolntion,387. 
At SI,. Mattliew's, 407. 

Edwards, (Joloni^l, 212. 

Elk Kiver, 104, 105. 

Elliott, Colonel W. L., Second Iowa 
Cavalry, 52, 66, 

Elliot I, General, 343, 345. 

I'Mllsori, Liintenant, 103. 

EUi.sl.m. Miss.. ()6. 

El Paso. rexiLS, .■(22, 326, 328. 

Emory, Colonel, :i11. 

General. 194, 19.5,302,209. 

Endicott , Secretary, 426 

Sends mess;it,'e of (H)ndolence 

to Mrs Sheridan, 3-16, 
At Sheridan's funeral, 408. 

Escabedo, Cleinral, 323, 324. 

Es.lcllcSi>niiL's, 101, 

Esvell, General, 158, 294,305. 

Evarts, Senator, at St. Matthew's, 
407, 

FftRiin, General, 41. 

Fidrehild. Secretary, 408. 

Fairfax (^uirl. House. 258. 

Farm VI lie. 290. :ioii, 3l:i, 

Fariisworth Geinr.il Eben J., 240. 

FarraKiit. Admiral, 331. 

Farwell. Mr., of Illinois, introduces 

pension bill, .388. 
Fayetteville, N. C. 106. 268. 259. 
Ferrero, General. 172. 
Field, Marshal, at Sheridan's fuue- 

rid, 408. 
Fifth Keconstruction District, 338. 
Fink and Dittoe, 24. 



NDEX. 



44 J- 



FinncKas, 174. 

Fisher's Hill. 200, 202, 203, 204, 207, 

218. 219, 242, 284. 
Five Forks, 24£, 266-271. 273, 275, 278, 

280, 282, 286. 286, 289. 297, 320, 423. 
Flag- of truce brouxht by General 
Whittaker, 296. 
At half-mast. Order conceru- 

in«, 386. 
Of General Sheridan's divis- 
ion headquarters, 402. 
Flanders, Benjamin J., 339. 
Floral tributes on the altar steps, 

402. 
Florida, 330. 
Floyd, John B., .39. 
Foley, Bishop, conducts General 
Sheridan's marriage, 373. 

Consecrates Sheridan's 

xrave. 406, 407. 
Kecites the offices at Sheri- 
dan's grave, 416. 
Ford's Station, 173. 
Forrest, General x\. B., 80, 97, 99, 

100, 116, 217, 2ii.5, .305, 306, 310. 
Forsyth, Brig-adier-General James 
W., 201, 251, 340. 3.50, .352. .364, 366, 
405, 416. 

At St. Matthew's, 407. 
Forsyth, Colonel G. S., 251. 

At St. Matthew's, 408. 
Fort Adams furnishes guard of 
honor at Nonqult, .390. 
Duncan, 34. 
Fisher, 259. 
Gibson, 156, 322. 
Kearney, 40. 
Leavenworth, 40, 322, 343, 346, 

Smith, Ark., 157. 

Standish, 369. 

Stedman, 266. 

Still, 307. 

Union, 371. 

Wise, 40. 

Wood, ;J4. 
Franco-Prussian war declared, 349. 
Frankfort, Ky., 71. 
Franklin, Tex., 99, 100, 101, 138, 240. 
Frederick, Md., 138. 
Fredericksburg, 311. 
Fremont, General .John C.,42, 252. 
Front Royal, 194. 202, 258. 
Frve, Senator. 427. 
FiUlerton, General .J. 8., 128, 129, 

132. 
Funeral escort, 387. 

March, Order of, 414, 415. 

.Services, Description of , 407- 
414 

Services, Time occujiiedby, 
407. 

Train, 394 .395. 
Funkhouser, Colonel, 102. 
Furnace road, 160. 

Gaines Mills, .308. 

Gambetta, 355. 

Garfield, General, 118, 120. 

Garge, 3.54. 

Garrett, Cyrus, 230. 

Gate City oi the Confederacy, 109, 
113, 12;^. 

Gay, Captain Ebenezer, 71. 

Gay, Shawnee agent, 38. 

Geary, General, 125, 126, 129. 

Georgia 77, 97, 111. 

German soldiers' opinions of Sheri- 
dan, 425. 

Getty, General, 159. 

Gettysburg, 157, 247, 123, 218. 

Gibbons, Cardinal, 408, 409. 

Delivers funeral discourse, 
410-413. 

Gibbons, General, 21, 16.5, 295. 

Gifford. R. Swam, Residence of, 376. 

Gila Valley, Ariz., 328. 

Gilbert, General C. C, 70, 74, 76, 97. 

Gilder, Richard Watson, 396. 

Gilmore, Colonel Harry, 2.59, 305. 



Girst, General, 117. 

Goldsboro', 258. 

Goochlam', Va., 26.3. 

Goode, Thomas F., 314. 

Gordon, General .John B., 18, 21, 46- 
49. 61, 67. 1H5, 217, 223, 296, 296, 287, 
298, 302, 305. 

Gordon's Mills, 109, 116. 

Gordousville, 161, 206, 2.58. 

Govern, (General, 116, 117. 

Graham, David, 396. 

Granger, General Gordon, 67,97, ](il, 
105,11.5, 119,120, 125, 128, 130,131, 
132, 134, 147, 148, 182. 240. 

Grant, Colonel Frederick D., at 
St. Matthew's, 418. 
At Arlington. 416. 

" Grant, Sherman. Sheridan," poem 
by R. W. Gilder, 397. 

Grant, U. 8.-17. 18, 45, 46, 53, 66, 67. 
68, 77, 98, 101, 111, 115, 124, 137, 145. 
146, 147, 148, 15.), 153, 15.5, 156, 1.59, 
160, 164, 168, 171, 172, 174, 178, 179, 
180, 181, 188, 193, 201, 203, 206, 247, 
251, 252, 255, 258, 259, 262, 264, 265, 
266, 267, 269, 273, 281, 282, 285, 286, 
287, 288, 289, 290, 292, 293, 294, 296, 
296, 297, 298. 300. 301, M?, 323, 3.30, 
:{32, :«5, 369, 430, 431, 4.34. 

Sends Sheridan to New Or- 
leans, .341. 
Elected President. 347. 

Gravelly Run, 270, 271, 272, 273, 276, 
£78, 280. 281. 

Gravelock, battle of, 350, .353. 

Graves, Doctor, of Providence, .324. 

Greene, Assistant Adjutant-Gene- 
ral, 67. 

Greenhault, Sergeant, 390. 

Gregg, General David McM., 158, 
159, 182. 186. 241, 252, 2.53, 274. 

Gregg, Colonel J. Irvin, 158, 182. 

Gregory, General, 271, 276. 

Colonel .lames F., at 8t. Mat- 
thew's, 408. 

Greiner, Captain, 24, 32. 

Gridiron Club, 367. 

Grier, Colonel, 311. 

Grierson, General B. R., 65,69, 2;i8, 
240, 252, 255, 259. 

Griffin. General, 21, 271, 276, 277, 278, 
290 295 

Grose,' General, 91, lo9, 116. 

Grover. General, 196, 212. 

Gruesal, Colonel Nicholas, 71. 

Guard of Honor, 396. 

Gua.vmas, 327. 

Guinney's Station, 163. 

Gulf Department, 113. 

Guntown, MiHsissippi, .32, 64. 

Gwin, 319, 278, 323. 

Hall, Colonel A. 8., 100. 

Halleck, General H. W., 18, 42, 46, 

.53, 61, 64, «9, 95, 106, 124, 127, 143, 145, 

146, 157, 170, 180, 182, 204, 206. 
Hallcr, Ma,jor, 38. 
Halltown, i81. 
Hali>en, (;(jrjioral, 390. 
Hami)ton, Lieu tenant-General 

Wade, 168, 171, 174, 217, 305, 306, 

309, 310, 311, 314. 
Hancock. General W. S., 125, 158, 

159, 160, 164, 172, 173, 177, 186, 265. 

345. 
Hanover Court House, 310. 
Hardee, General. 67, 72, 74, 80, 82, m, 

86,89,91, 97, 104, 107, 135. 
Hardeeville. 258. 
Harding, Cnlcinel, 99. 
H;ird\vi(ksville. 262. 
Harkcr, (ieixral, 119, 1.36. 
Harper'.s Ferry, 139, 142, 176, 181, 188. 

203, 257. 
Harrison, General Benjamin, 103, 

107. 
Harrodsburg, Ky., 71, 76, 
Hartsuff. General, 312, 313. 
Hascall. 90. 
Hatch, Lieutenant-Colonel. 54. 



Hatcher's Run, 269^ 270, 289. 
Hawley, Senator, 360, 388, 408, 416, 

427. 
Haxall's Lauding, 163. 
Hays. Brigiidier-General Alexander 

killed, 1.59. 
Hays. Fort, 346. 348. 
Hazen. General, 92, 107, 108, 117, 125. 
Heberton, H., baggage-master, 395. 
Herron, Andrew S., removed from 

office, 339. 
Hiawaiisee, lo9. 
Hill, Colonel Herbert E., 211, 212. 

305, 369, 390. 
Hill. General A. P., 158. 
Hindman, 115, 120. 
Hinks, 172. 
Hiscock's Battery, 84. 
Hoar, Senator, at St Matthew's, 407. 
Hood, General, 115, 117, 120. .305. 
Hooker, Colonel, attends General 

Sheridan's funeral, 405. 428. 

General, 124, 125, 126, 127. 128, 

129, 130, 147,232,241. 
Mr., of Mississippi, offers 
resolutions, 388. 
Holly Springs. Mississippi, 66. 
Hoover's Gap, 102. 
Horse, General Sheridan's, follows 

the general's coffin. 414. 
Howard, General, 125, 128, 129, 155, 156. 
Howell, .Judge, 332, 335. 
Huff, .John A., 250. 
Humphreys, General, 281, 287, 289, 

292, 300. 
Humphrey's Station. 270. 
Hunter, .Major, 95, 167, 170, !75, 172, 

180, IHl, 182, 252. 
Huntsville, Alabama, 148, 155. 
Hurlbut, General, 106, 124, 12.5. 

Illinois, 12.5. 

Iinboden, General, .313, 314. 

Imperialists, The, 319, .323. 

Indiana, 125. 

Indian difficulties, 424. 

Hill, 131. 

Peace Commission, 343. 

Territory, 156, 157, 307, 354,. 
Indian tribes, 344. 
Infantry Regiments: 

Eighty-ninth Illinois. 103. 

Eighty-third Illinois. 99. 

Fifteenth Illinois, 150. 

Fifteenth Kentucky, 90. 

Fifteenth Ohio, 103. KM. 

Forty-ninth Ohio, 103. 

Fourth, .34. 

Ninety-third Ohio, 103. 

One Hundred and First 
Illinois. 100. 

One Hundred and Twenty- 
third Illinoia, 100. 

Seventeenth and Eighteenth 
Kansas Volunteers, 344. 

Seventy-second Indiana. 102. 

Thirteenth MissisHJppi. 88. 

Thirteenth, Unitid States- 
Army, 422. 

Thirty-fourth Massachu- 
setts, 142. 

Thirty-ninth Indiana 
Mounted, 103. 

Thirty-second Indiana, 103. 

Twenty-first Illinois. Com- 
pany K, 96. 

Twenty-third Illinois, 102. 
Ingalls, General. .301. 
Ingalls, Senator, at St. Matthew's, 

407. 
Innes, Colonel, 106. 
Innes, General, 126. 
Invitations to attend Sheridan's 

funeral, 40.), 406. 
Irving, 158. 
luka. Miss., 66, 68. 

AKkson, General T. .J. (Stonewall>, 

70, 73, 182, 313, 365. 
James River, 258, 262. 264, .309. 



442 



NDEX. 



Jasper, 125. 
Jaurez, 323, 327. 
Jefferson City, 345. 
Jersey City, Fuueral train at, 396. 
JetersviUe, 289, 290, 291, 292. 
Johnson, Andrew, 67, 330, 332, 333. 
Johnson, Mr., 337, 338. 
Johnson's Creek, 108. 
Johnson's Pass, Lookout Mount- 
ain, 114. 
Johnston, Albert Sidney, 305. 
Johnston, Bushrod, 102, 103, 104, 106, 

108. 116,134,271,273 
Johnson, General Joseph E., 76, 

80, 87, 97, 98, 106, 112, 115, 125, 128, 

156, 213, 266, 305. 
Jones' Bridg-e, 172. 
Jones, Chief Clerk, Confederate 

State Department, 262. 
Jones, General W. S., 167. 
Jones, Lieutenant-Colonel, 102. 
Jones, Senator, 428. 
Jordan, Captain United States 

Army; Beauregard's Chief of 

Staff, 38. 
Jordan, Colonel, 102, 305. 
Justicia, Sister, 381, .393. 

Kansas Struggle, .38. 

Jayhawker, 41. 

Kegiilar Army feeling to- 
ward, 42, 156, 157. 

Department of, 304. 

Indians in, 344. 

Pacific Railroad, 346. 
Kautz, General August V., 158, 172, 

173, 174, 177, 240. 
Kearney, General Philip, 326. 
Kelley's Farm, 115. 

Ford, 125. 
Kelley, General, 143, 170. 
Kellogg, Captain S. C, 360. 

At Nonquit, 393. 

Captain, 118. 
Kelly, Mr., 364. 
Kelton, J. C, 360. 
Kentucky, 106, 364, 125. 
Kentucky, Southern, 77, 80. 
Kervick, Father T. J., 409. 

Celebrates requiem mass, 
400. 
Killed and wounded from the Wil- 
derness to the James River, 159. 
Killey, Joseph, engineer, 395. 
Kilpatrick, General Judson, 240, 241, 

249, 253, 254, 259, 3(19, 311. 
Kimball, Bugler Charles, sounds 
"tajis" at General Sheridan's 
grave, 416. 
Kinderhook, 99. 
King, General H. C. 433. 

General, 116, 117. 
Kiowas, Hostility of the, 344, 345. 
Kirk's Brigade, 86. 
Klamath Lake, 36. 
Klien, Slieridan's servant, 380. 
Knoxville, Tenu., 113, 124, 126, 127, 

148, 147, 155. 251. 
Ku-Klux Klan, 340. 

Lafayette, 106, 109, 114. 

Lafayette and Rossville Road, 115. 

La Grange, Colonel, 239. 

Lamont, Colonel, 368. 

Lancaster, 76. 

Las Cruces, New Mexico, .328. 

Latrobe, Colonel, 297. 

Lavergne. 81. 

Lawtou, Captain, 405. 

Lebanon, Kv., 71, 100. 

Lebo, Colonel, 348. 

Lee, General Robert E.,19, 20, 106, 113. 
153,156, 1.58,160. 164, 174, 179, 186, 
254, 261, 263, 265, 266, 269, 281, 282, 
285, 2H7, 288, 289, 290, 291, 293, 294, 
295, 297, 300, 301, 305, 307, 308, 309, 
398, 417. 421. 

Surrender of, 431, 432. 
Major-General Fitzhugb, 
168, 169, 171, 173, 305, 314. 



Lee, Ma.ior-Geueral W. H. F., 168, 
169, 310. 

Major George, 366. 
Lee and Gordon's Mill. 114. 
Letcher, Governor, 308. 
Lexington, 176. 
Libby Prison, 254. 
Liberty Gap, 102, 103, 104. 
Liddel, General, 73, 87, 91, 116, 117. 
Liddel's Brigade, 103. 
LlUey, Captain, 102. 
Limestone, Ala., 239. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 18, 42, 94, 180, 181, 
183, 205, 266, 288, 332. 

Assassination of, 317. 

Mock funeral of, 324. 

Mr., of the Grand Army, 
at Sheridan's funeral, 408. 
Littlepage's Ford, 164. 
Little River, 164. 
Little Rock, Ark., 321, ."22. 
Logan, General John A., 65, 125, 321, 
365. 

Funeral of, 382, 406. 

Lloyd, 197. 
Loifdolt, Lieutenant-Colonel Ber- 
nard, 71. 
Loniax, Brigadier-General L. L., 

168, 186. 220, 243, 244. 
London Editors, 425. 
Lone Star State, The, 329. 
Long Bridge, 172. 

Longstreet. General, 106, 113, 115, 117, 
118, 120, 126, 127, 136, 147, 148, 158, 160, 
207, 296 , 297, 299, 308, 309, 313, 314. 
Lookout Creek, 108. 

Mountain, 108, 109, 113, 123, 
127, 146. 

Valley, 126, 127, 148. 
Loomis, Captain and Battery res- 
cued by Sheridan, 74, 87. 
Loudon, Teun., 127, 143. 
Loudoun County, Va., 137, 313, 

Heights, 139, 142, 143. 

Valley, 257. 
Louisiana, 155, 157. 
Louisville, 124, 125, 148. 

Legion, 103. 
Lovingsto'u, 262. 
Lowell, 240. 253. 

Loyal Legion, 390, 393, 394, 396, 428. 
Luray, 257. 

Luray Valley, 202, 243. 
Lydecker, Major, at Arlington, 406. 
Lyell, 274. 
Lynchburg. 161. 170, 171. 172, 176, 186, 

257, 2.59, 261, 262, 264, 265, 294, 803. 
Lyons, General Nathaniel B., 45. 

MacFeeley, General, at Arlington, 

406. 

At St. Matthew's, 408. 
Mackey, Mr. John W., sends a 

floral gift, 403. 
Mackin, Father J. F., celebrant, 409. 
Madison Court House, 258. 
Magruder, Ex-Congi-essman, 314. 
Mahone, General, 74, 217, 294. 
Mallory, Secretary, 262. 
Maloney, Major, United States 

Army, 38. 
Manassas, 258, 309. 
Manchester, Tenu., 101, 106. 
Manderson, Senator, 360. 
Manitoba, 359. 
Manly, 87. 

Manning, Colonel, 297. 
" March to the Sea," HI. 
Marches thirty miles a day, 304. 
Marmaduke, General. 41. 
Marrigault, 87. 
Marshall, Colonel, 301. 
Martin, General, 107. 
Martinsburg. 194. 
Maryland Heights, 139. 
Maryland Volunteers, 143. 
Marysville, Ky,, 71. 
Mason, 323. 

Massachusetts Commandery. 390. 
Massanutten Mountain, 219. 



Matamoras, Mexico, 319, 322. 

Imperialists, 324. 
Matthews, Doctor, 380. 

Stanley, 67, 78. 
Maximilian, 319, 322, 323, 329. 
McCahn. Lieutenant, 390. 
McCarthy, Justin, 42ff. 
McCausland, 180. 
McClellau, General George B., 42, 65, 

214, 240, 248, 249, 253. 
McClernand. 65. 
McCook, Colonel Daniel, 71, 74, 76, 

99, 115. 

General Alexander D., 70, 71, 

74, 76, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 

89, 101, 103, 104, 105, 108, 114, 

116, 117,120. 

Edward, 65. 

McCown, General, 86, 89, 91, 98, 100. 

McCuUough, General Benjamin, 41, 

305. 
McDowell, 308. 
McGonigle, Colonel, 348. 
McGraw, orderly, 37. 
McGregor, Mount, 377. 
McKenzie, General, 158, 252, 272, 274, 

283, 291, 292. 
McLaws, 115. 

McLean, William, Residence of, 300. 
McLemore's Cove, 114. 
McMinnsville, Tenn., 101, 106, 112. 
McNair, 87, 91. 
McNally, teacher, 26 
McPhersou, General, 124, 125, 127, 

147, 148, 155, 210, 240. 
McWUliams, General, 210. 
Meade, General, 19, 146, 153, 1.55, 156, 

158, 160, 164, 173, 176, 178, 186, 241, 

254, 287, 288, 291, 292, 293, 300, 365, 

429. 
Meadow Bridge, 162. 
Mechanics Hall, 332, 335. 
Mechanicsville, 162. 
Meherrin Station, 174. 
Meigs, Lieutenant, 203. 
Mejia, General, 323, 324. 
Memphis, Tenn., 106, 110, 124, 148. 
Merritt, General Wesley, 158, 160, 

182, 186, 194, 240, 243, 244, 246, 253, 

257, 260, 272, 289, 290, 291, 292, 2.93, 

408. 
Mesila Valley, New Mexico, 328. 
Metz, 353, 354. 
Mexican Congress 327. 
Free Zone. 323. 
Republic, 318, 321, 322. 323. 
Mexico, 359. 

Michigan Engineers, 106. 
Middleburg, 253, 258. 
Middletown, 99.202, 212, 215, 221, 222. 
Milburn, Rev. W. H., offers prayer 

in the house, 388. 
Miles' Division, 289. 
Milford. 163, 202. 

Military Institute, Governor's Is- 
land, 214. 
Mill Creek, 212. 
Millwood. 194, 201. 
Milton, Tenn., 100. 
Mine at Petersburg, 177, 178. 
Minty. Colonel, 99, 100, 107, 125. 
Missionary Ridge, 98, 110, 114, 115, 

119, 120, 123, 127, 128, 129, 134, 135, 

136, 146. 147, 148, 157. 
Mission Mills, 134. 
Mississippi, 148, 365. 

Department of, 98. 
Division of, 125. 
River, 77, 110, 125, 155, 322. 
Missouri, Department of, 304, 343, 

349. 

Valley, Tribes of, ^44. 
Mitchel. General O. M., 65, 67. 
Mitchell's Cavalry, 116. 
Mitchell. General Robert B., 65, 

70, 74, 120, 125. 
Mobile. 124. 

Bay, 259. 
Mobile and Ohio Railroad, 52, 64. 
Monocacy. 176, 181, 182, 218. 



NDEX. 



443 



Mouobansett, steamer, 393. 

Monroe, Colonel. 102. 

Monroe Doctrine, 424. 

Montgomery, 259. 

Moonligrht, General Thomas J., 238, 

344,345. 
Moore, Major Tom, 366. 
Moreran, General J. H., 67, 78, 80, 97, 

100, 217, 238, 258. 310, 407, 428. 
Moseby, General Jobn L., 137, 138, 

143, 238, 258, 305, 30S, 311, 312, 314. 
Moselle. 353, 354. 
Mountain Gai>, 76. 
Mount Vernon, 79. 
Jackson, 246. 
Mules, Battle of tbe, 126. 
Muuroe, J. T., 334, 339. 
Murat, 19. 

Murdoch, -Tames E , 230. 
Murfreesboro', 76, 78, 80, 81, 85, 94, 95, 

99. 100, 102, 112. 

Music at St. Matthew's, 407. 
Mussle Shoals, 123. 

Napoleon, Louis, 323, 354. 

Surrenderor, 360, 351. 
Nantucket, 376. 
Narrasansett Bay, 376. 
Nashville, Tenu., 67, 69, '0, 77, 80, 97, 

100, 110,112, 113, 148, 150, 1-58. 
Nashville and Chattanooga Rail- 
road, 112. 

Nashville and Decatur Railroad, 

127. 
National Military Cemetery, 420. 

Sheridan at, 422. 
Negley, General, 82, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 
91, 96, t02, 104, 105, 108, 115, 116, 125. 
Nesrley's Division, 80. 
Nelson, 65, 69. 

Nelson and Pitman's cross-roads, 76. 
Nesmitb, Senator, Orepron, 38. 
New Bedford, Mass., 376. 
New Bern, 259. 
New Haven, Reunion at, 435. 
New Market, 202, 262. 
New Mexico, 326. 
New Orleans, La., 201, 259. 364. 

Massacre, 110, 322, 337, 339. 
Newtown, 215. 
New York, 366. 
New York Sun, The, 427. 
Ney. Marshal, Sheridan compared 

to, 433 
Nickajack Valley, 108. 
Ninety-eiehth lUmois, 102, 103. 
Nolensville, 80, 81. 
Nonquit, 359, 367. 

Delicacy of People of, 393. 

Description of, 376, 379. 

The dead general at, 392, 393. 
North Anna. 158, 162, 163, 164. 
North Mountain, 202. 
Northern Georg-ia, 106, 123. 
Northwestern Department, 106. 
Nott.oway Station, 173, 289. 

Ohio, 106. 125. 

Governor of, official i>ro- 
clamation, 391). 
" Old Brains," 110. 
Old Cold Harbor, 164. 
Opequan, 193, 194, 195, 197, 201, 224. 
Orchard Knob, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 

423. 
Ord, General, 178, 240, 281, 287, 293, 

295, 300, 301, 302. 
Orduiince Department at Washiug'- 

ton, Guns returned to, 369. 
O'Kcilly, Dr.,380, 383. 
Original Reconstruction Act, 337. 
Osterhans, 129. 
Owen's Ford, 116. 

Paine. Brigadier-General H. A., 176. 
Paine's cross-roads, 291. 
Painsville, 292. 
Pall-bearers, 406. 

Palmer, General, 81, 89, 116, 125, 128, 
147, 357. 



Palmyra, 99. 

Pamunkey River, 26^. 

Panama, 366. 

Paris, Comte De, 74, 81, 85, 91, 92, 118, 

121. 
Paris, France, 258, 328. 
Parke, 287. 

Parker, Colonel Eli, 301. 
Paso Del Norte, Mexico, 327. 
Pastors of city churches at Sheri- 
dan's funeral, 409. 
Paxton, 143. 

Paxton's cross-roads, 137. 
Pea Ridge, 159. 
Pegram's Cavalry, 115. 
Pembertou, 97. 
Peninsula Campaign. 308. 
Pennsylvania, 138. 
Pennsylvania Railroad, 395. 
Pension to Mrs. Sheridan, 388. 
Pepper, Doctor, 379, 383. 
Perry ville, Ky., 68, 75, 76, 109, 145, 

159 
Petersburg, Va., 19, 172, 173, 174, 177, 

179, 188, 214, 257, 258, 262, 264, 266, 

267, 269, 272, 274, 281, 287, 289. 
Petticoat Gap, 194. 
Peytonville, 99. 
Phelps, General, 135, 238. 
Philip, 24ii. 
Piatt, Donn. 70. 

Pickett, General, 271, 273, 285, 297. 
Piedmont, 175. 
Pierce, President, 305. 
Pierce, Secretary of State Henry B., 

of Missouri, 394. 
Pigeon Mountain, 106, 144. 
Pike, General Albert. 41. 
Pike's Opera House, 231. 
Pittsburg Landing, 48, 110, 182. 
Plains region, 346 
Pleasonton, General Alfred, 146, 157, 

238, 240. 
Plumb, Senator, 429, 430. 
Plumber, The reporter disguised as 

a, 376. 
Plymouth Harbor, 369. 
Pocotaligo, 258. 
Polk, General, at Perryville and 

Stone River, 67, 70, 90, 91, 97, 109, 

115, 116. 
Pout-a-Mousson, 350. 
Pope, General John, 45, 46, 47, 106, 

125, .322. 
Poplar Grove, 99. 
Porter, General Horace, 285, 286. 301, 

303 309 
Port Hudson, 97, 159, 176. 
Port Republic, 203. 
Post's Brigade. 86. 
Potomac Army. 137, 292, 295. 
River, 138, 139, 
Route, The, 396. 
Powell, General, 243. 
Preston, 115. 
Price, Sterling, 41, 67, 156, 217, 238, 

304, 305, 320, 329. 
Pritchard, Colonel, 239. 
Prussian Third Corps storm La 

Garenne, 351. 
Pueblo, Mexico, 327. 
Putnam, 240, 253. 

Quaker Road, 269, 273, 278. 

i,iuantrell, 238. 

Queretaro, Mexico, 323, 329. 

Raccoon Mountain, 108. 

Rains, Major. 37, 41, 91. 

Raiu-in-the-Face, 369. 

Rapidan, 19. 

Rappahannock, 158. 

Rawlins, General John A , 301, 355. 

Rea, General, pays tribute to the 

memory of Sheridan, 390. 
Read, General. 314. 

T. Buchanan, 230. 
Readville, So. 

Reagan. Postmaster-General, 262. 
Reams Station, 173, 174. 



Rector's cross-road, 253. 
Red Cloud, 359. 
Red River, 156, 157. 
Reed's Bridge, 11,5. 
Registration, Order for, 339. 
Representatives, The, at St. Mat- 
thew's, 407. 
Resolutions of Congress. .387. 
Reynolds, General, 107, 108, 117, 240, 
321. 

Colonel, 102. 
Rhodes. General. 196. 
Richard, General Sheridan's body 

servant, at St. Matthew's, 403. 
Richmond, Ky., 76. 
Richmond, Va., 150, 160, 161, 162, 168, 
178, 179, 180, 20.5, 214. 218, 247, 249, 
253,257,2.58, 259, 261,262, 263, 265, 
278. 281, 289, 299, 308. 321, 423, 429, 
430. 
Rieketts. General, 176, 196. 
" Rienzi." 66, 214. 
Rigby. Captain. 196. 
Rilev, Fort, 344. 345. 
Ringtrokl. 134. 147, 148. 
Rio Grande Bravo Del N<irte, 324 
River. 318, 321, 322, 323, 326, 
327, 359. 424. 
Ripley, General, 66. 
Rivers, Lieutenant, 142. 
Robert, Colonel, 84, 85, 87, 89. 
Roberts, General, 312, 313. 
Robins, Colonel W. T., 309. 
Rochester. N. Y.. 214. 
Rock Creek, 104, 105. 
RockfordGap 260. 
" Rock of Chickamauga," 118. 
Rodd, J., fireman, 395. 
Rome, Tenn., 100. 
Romero. 323. 

Rosebud, Dakota, 247, 359. 
Rosecrans. General, praises Sheri- 
dan, 42. 61, 66. 

Other movements. 111, 112, 
113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 120, 
121, 124, 125, 157, 238. 304. 
310. 
Prepares to move on Chatta- 
nooga, 94, 109. 
Recommends Sheridan for 

promotion, 95. 
Stone River, 75, 91. 
Thanks of Lincoln and Hal- 
leck for Stone River, 94, 95. 
Roster of Army of the Shenandoah, 
Middle Military Division, 188 to 
192. 

Of Army of the Valley Dis- 
trict. Confederate, 224. 
Of Cav.alry Corps of the 
Army of the Potomac, un- 
der Sheridan, 1.50, 154. 
Rossville, 114, 115, 120. 
Rossville road, 117. 119. 
Rosser, General W. H. H., 159, 168, 
169, 182, 204. 221, 242, 243, 244, 246, 
247, 257, 260, 261, 313, 314, 368. 
Rosser. Tenn. 99, 100. 
Rousseau, General L. H., 41, 70, 81, 

89, 90, 96, 102, 104, 105. 
"Rosy," 125. 

Rucker, John A., drowned, 372. 
Rucker. Francis D.. 372. 
Rucker. General D. H., father of 
Mrs. Sheridan, 371. 

At St. Matthew's, 400. 
Selects Sheridan's burial- 
place. 406. 
Mrs ., at St. Matthew's, 400. 
Russian Fleet, 323. 
Russell, 240. 

Rutherford's Creek. 100. 
Ryan. Fathers. F., sub-deacon, 409. 
Ryan's. Mike, supplies, 96. 

Salem, 258. 

San Antonio, 307. 

Sand Creek, 345. 

Sand Mountain Cliffs, 113. 

Saviinnah. Ga., captured, 258. 



444 



INDEX. 



Savior's Creek, 267, 424. 

Battle of, 293, 294. 
Schaeffer, General, 85, 88, 89. 
Schoepff, Brigadler-Geueral Albert, 

70, 72. 
Schofield, Major-Geueral J. M., 78, 
106, 155, 35(1, 427. 

Calls out a military escort 

for the fuueral. 4u3. 
Keceives funeral party at 

cemetery gates, 414, 415 
Takes charge of General 
Sheridan's funeral, 386. 
Schultze, Sergeant, United States 

Army, 40. 
Scott. Martin, 24. 
Scott, Colonel. 158. 
Scott, Lieutenant-General, lod, 237, 

307. 
Scottsville, 262. 
Scran ton. Lieutenant, 53. 
Seribner, 90. 
Scribner's Brigade, 116. 
Secretary of Navy sends dispatch 

to Noncinit, 390. 
Secretary of War announces Gene- 
ral Sheridan's death to the 
Army, 391. 
Sedan, 350, 351, 352. 353. 
Sedgwick, Major John, United 
States Army, 40. 
General, 158. 
Selma, Ala , 259. 
Sequatchie Valley, 112, 124. 
Seven Pines, Battle of, 309. 
Seventeenth Indiana. 102, 103. 
Seward, William H., 318, 323, 328. 
Shellabarger, Judge, 338. 
Shelbyville, Teuu;, 71, 100, 101, 105. 
Shelby, General, 359. 
Shepherd. Colonel, 90. 
Shenandoah Valley, 19, 43, 44, 153, 
257, 274, 282. 286, 320, 346, 368, 423. 
Eiver, 139. 
Army of the, 283. 
Sheridan, Family: 

At St. Matthew's, 407. 
At the Grave, 416. 
Colonel Michael v., brother 
of General, 23. 24, 360, 366, 
393, 400. 
Daughters of General: Irene, 
Louise, and Mary, 373, 381, 
393. 
John, brother of General, 
23. 24; At St. Matthew's. 
400. 
John, father of General, 23, 

24 ; Death of, 373. 
M.ary, mother of General, 

23, 24. 
Mary, sister of General, 23. 
Mrs. Irene M., Wife of Gene- 
ral ; Sketch of , 371, 374. 
Mrs. Michael V., 393. 
Patrick H., brother of Gen- 
eral, 23, 24. 
Philip, Son of General, 373, 

381, 393. 

Rosa, sister of General, 23. 
Sheridan, Philip Henry: 

Acting Chief Commissary, 
45, 46. 

After the Wilderness and 
before the Army of the 
Potomac quartered on 
the James, 161-165. 

Appointed Colonel Second 
Michigan Cavalry 47, 48, 49. 

Appointed ma.ior - general, 
214. 

As a General, 17-21. 

Assigned as chief quarter- 
master, 41. 

Assigned to Third Army 
Corps, 70. 
. At Cedar Creek. 187. 

At Missionary Ridge, 130-135, 

At Perryville. 71. 75. 

At Stone River, 76-ai. 



Sheridan. Philip Henry: 

Battle of Booneville, 51-61. 
Breaking the Confederate 

communications, 168-174. 
Brevet First Lieutenant, 

32. 
Brevat Second Lieutenant, 

32. 
Brigadier, 68. 
Cadet, 29, 30, 31. 
Captain, 41. 
Captures mail, 66. 
CapturinK Booneville, 62. 
Commands brigade, 65, 67. 
Compared to Sherman, 424. 
Commended by Grant, 135. 
Engagement at Baldwins- 

ville, 64. 
Family and birthplace, 23. 
First Battle, 51. 
First railroad raid, 6.J. 
Forces of April 1, 1865, 273. 
Funeral escort, 387. 
Funeral .services of, 407, 414. 
Funeral train, 394, 395 
Grant's estimate of, 17. 
Halleck recommends pro- 
motion, 65. 
His report on the battle of 

Murfreesboro', 83, 84, 85. 
His training on the field of 

Chickamaui^a, 110-121. 
In command Third Division, 

Twentieth Corps, 76. 
In Texas and Oregon light- 
ing Indians, 35, 36, 37. 
In the Shenandoah Valley, 

185. 
Moving towards Chicka- 

mauga, 94- ".09. 
Ordered to Europe. 350. 
Ordered to Louisville, 67. 
Order of funeral march, 414, 

415. 
Perryville to Stone River, 

75-92. 
Presented with s.vord and 
other accoutrements, 98. 
Put in command of the 
Cavalry of the Army of 
the Potomac, 146. 
Relieved, 44 

Reorganizes the Cavalry, 
157. 
Hide from Winchester, 208, 

229-234. 
Rosecrans commends skill 

and coolness, 64. 
School days, 27, 28. 
Sed.au, At Battle of, 351. 
Second Virginia Raid, 167. 
"Sheridan, Philip Henry," Poem, 

398. 
" Sheridan's Ride," poem, 234. 

Writing of Poem, 230. 
Sherman, General William Tecum- 
seh, 65, 97, 106, 111. 124, 125,126, 
127, 128, 129, 130, 135, 136, 146, 147, 
148, 150, 155, 166, 177, 247. 258, 259, 
266, 317, 318, 341, 243, 348, 349, 359, 
364, 366, 367. 

At Sheridan's funeral, 408, 

409. 414. 416. 
At Sheridan's grave, 417. 
Sherman-Johnson compact, 317. 
SMloh, Field of, 45. 110. 3U7. 
Shreveport, La., 156, 32l. 
Sibley, General. 305, 327, 328, 359. 
Sickles, Ma.jor-General D. E., 426, 

427. 
Sierra Madre, 327. 
Sigel, 17.5, 252. 
Sill, Brigadier-General, 72, 78, 84, 86, 

87, 88, 89. 
Silver Springs, Md., 176. 
Sisters of the Holy Child, Convent 

of, 371. 
Sitting Bull, 359. 
Sixth Indiana, 103. 
Slidell, 323. 



Slough, Colonel, 328. 

Smailey, George V., describes the 

battle of Sedan, 3.51, 352. 
Smith, Captain, of the Mouohau- 

sett, 393. 
Smith, General G., 100. 
Smith. General Kirby. 67, 71, 97, 98, 

156, 165, 172, 173, 320, 823, 329. 
Smith, Captain 140. 
Smith, General W. F., 125, 126. 
Smoky Hill, Indian atrocities at, 

340, 
Snicker Gap, 258. 
Somerset, Ohio, Early home of 

Sheridan, 23. 
Sonora. 27. 
South. Central, 97. 
South Chickamauga, 129. 
1 Southern Vir.ginia, 147. 
i Southside railroad, 269, 272. 
I Spanish oppressors, 327. 
Spear, 158. 
Spencer Rifles, 102. 
Spotted Tail, 3.=.9. 
Spottsylvania, 153, 158, 159, 160, 161, 

163, 258. 
Springfield, Tenn., 71, 100. 
Spring Hill, Tenn., Battle of, 99, lou. 
Stanberry, Attorney-General, 339. 
Stanford, 76. 
Stanley, General, 43, 80, 89, 105, 106, 

125, 238, 240. 
Stanton, Secretary, 124, 125. 
Starkweather, General, 73, 116, 117. 
State Constitutional Convention, 

308. 
Staunton, 167, 170, 171, 175, 178. 180, 

183, 197, JOS, 214, 260. 321. 
Steadman, General, 119, 120, 125. 
Steele, Frederick, 240. 305. 

General, 155, 156, 157. 
Stephen's Gap, 108. 
Stephenson. 106, 113. 
Stewart, 89, 115. 
Stewart's Creek, 81. 
St. Louis, Mo., 157, 322. 
St. Matthew's Church, 396, 400. 

Decorations at, 401, 402. 403. 
Stouemau, 238, 240, 259, 311 
Stone River, 74, 91, 94, 95, 97, 109, 159, 

238, 423. 
Stormy Point, 258. 
Strasburg, 185, 186, 187, 196, 202, 203, 

204, 244, 257, 354 . 

Stuart, General J. E. B., 160, 162, 169, 

205, 241, 305, 307, 309, 310, 311, 312, 
313, 4». 

Death of, at Yellow Tavern, 
307. 
Sturgis, General, 240, 350. 
Sullivan, General, 66, 142, 143. 
Summer, Colonel, .345. 
Summertown, 109. 
Summit Point, 194. 
Sumner, General, 41. 
Sword, General Sheridan's, taken 

from the coffin. 416. 
Sycamore Ford. 309. 
Sykes, 240. 



Table at which Lee sat, ;i03. 
Talbot. Henry, 24. 
Tautallont, 105. 
Taylor, Dick, 1.56.320 
Taylor, General Zachary, 365. 
Tennessee, 106, 110, 124, 129, 147, 148. 

Central, 80. 

East and South, 97. 

Eastern, 106, 112, 125. 147, 148, 

Northern, 77. 

River, 94, 105, 107, 108, 111, 112, 

113, 127, 128, 150. 
Valley, 113. 
Terrell, Cadet-Sergeant, 32, 36«. 
Texas, 155, 157, 

Legion, First, 101. 
Thirty-ninth Indiana Mounted In- 
fantry, 102. 



NDEX. 



44^ 



Thomas, General George H., 39, 40, 
65, 71, 74, 75. 91, 96,105, 108, 114, 115, 
116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 125, 127, 
128, 129, 130, 131, 134, 148, 240, 251, 
307. 

Thompson Station. 100. 

Thoroughfare Gap. 253. 

Thousand Islands, 376. 

Throckmorton, Mr., 338, 339. 

Tin Mountain, 1U4. 

Todd's Tavern, 153, 159, 160. 

Tolersville. Va., 2&3. 

Tompkins, General, in command 
of funeral escort, 406. 

Tom's Run, 244. 

Torbett, Major-General A. T. A., 
158, 182. 186, 194, 202, 204, 240, 243, 
244, 247, 249, 252, 258, 282, 311. 

Torcy, 351. 

Tours, 366. 

Tracy City, 104. 

Trenton. 107, 108. 
Valley, 113. 

Trevilian Station, 172, 247. 

Triune, 80, 81, luo. 

Tucson, Ariz., 328. 

Tullahoma, 80, 94, 97, 101, 104, 109, 112, 
113, 423. 

Tunnel Hill, 147. 

Tupelo, 69. 

Turchia, Greneral, 105, 120. 

Turkeytown, 243. 

Tuscaloosa, 259. 

Tiiscumbia, 106. 

Twentieth Corps, 82, 86, 101. 

T\Yigg:8, Major-General, 307. 

Union forces, 150. 

TJniou, Fort, birth-place of Mrs. 
Sheridan, 371, 

Unionville, 99, 100. 

United States Senators' floral trib- 
ute, 403. 

University, 105. 

Urban. Sister, 393. 

Utes, The, 344. 

VaUey Head, 113. 
Valley of Virg-iuia, 299. 
Van Cleve. 87, 89. 106, 115, 117. 
Vancouver, Washington Territory, 

Vandever, 116. 135. 

Van Dorn, General, 41. 67, 76, 100, 305. 

Vanghan road, 269, 281. 



Vaughn, 87. 

Vernon, Captain, 142, 144. 
Vicksburg, 97, 106, 112, 113, 124, 159, 251 
Vienna, 329. 
Vilas, Secretary, 408. 
Virginia, 106, 139, 146, 150. 
Voorhees, Lieutenant - Governor, 
334. 

Wagner, General, 107, 109, 132, 136. 
Walbridge, Quartermaster F. E.,47. 
Waldron Ridge, 112. 123, 125. 
Wallace, General Lew. 65, 176, 218. 
Walker, General, 106. 115, 116. 
Walker. Hon. A. F., 210. 
Walthall, General, 116. 
Walthall's Brigade. 117. 
Warren, General, 158, 159, 163, 165, 172, 

178, 270, 271, 273, 274, 276, 277, 281, 

286. 

Corps of, 273. 
Warren ton, 258. 
Washington, D. C, 124, 145, 150, 155, 

176, 180, 182, 185, 193, 206, 206, 218, 

321, 350, 358, 359, 361, 396. 
Monument, The, 417. 
Waterville, 143. 
Wauhatoliie, 126. 
Waynesboro, 203, 248, 260, 261, 264. 
Webster, 73. 
Weitzel, Major-General Godfrey, 

281, 321, 322, 323, 324, 329. 
Wellington, Duke of. 434. 
Wells, J. Madison, .331, 338, 339, 340. 
West Chickamauga, 109. 
Western Maryland, 138. 
West Point. 247, 366, 437. 
West, Senator, 328. 

At St. Matthew's, 407. 
Wharton, General, 82, 86, 89, 97, 99, 

103, 407. 
Wheaton's Division, 294. 
Wheeler, General Joseph A., 78, 82, 

97, 99. 104, 107, 116, 127, 217, 255, 805, 

306, 311, 388, 405. 
White House, 163, 172, 262, 263, 264, 

265, 337. 
White League conspiracy, 340, 341. 
White Oak road, 269, 270, 271, 274, 

275 ''89 
White'piains, 258. 
Whitman, Dr , Massacre, 34. 
Whitman, Walt. 396, 428. 
Whitney, Secretary, at Sheridan's 

funeral, 408. 



Whittaker, Brigadier-General, 120, 
296. 

Wichita River, 347. 

Wickham, Brigadier-General W. E., 
168, 169, 182, 202, 305, 314. 

Wilcox, General, 125. 

Wilder, General, 100, 102, 103, 107, 125, 
238. 

Wilderness, Battle of the, 159. 

Wilkinson's cross-roads, 81. 

Williams, General Seth, 301. 

Willich, General, 86, 103, 104. 

Will's Valley, 107, 108. 

Wilmington, 259. 

Wilson, Colonel John M., takea 
charge of seating arrangements 
at St. Matthew's, 406. 

Wilson, John, married Mary Sheri- 
dan, 23. 

Wilson, General, 153, 158, 169, 160, 
173, 186, 195, 202. 2^9, 240. 251. 

Winchester, 104, 105, 106, 112, 113, 179, 
186, 187, 188, 193, 195, 196, 200, 207, 
212, 215, 218, 224, 229, 248, 257, 258, 
260, 262, 264, 285, 313, 364, 369. 

Window Shades, 172. 

Wind River County, 368. 

Winslow, General, 238. 

Winthrop. General, killed, 278. 

Withers, General, 82, 88, 91. 

Wool, General,United States Army, 
37. 

Wood, Fort, 128, 131. 

Wood, General T. J., 86, 119, 125, 127, 
128, 129, 130, 132, 134, 136. 

Woodruff, General, 81, 84, 86. 

Woodstock, 248. 

" Woodstock Races," 244. 

Worth, General, 365. 

Wright, General Horatio J., 67. 

Wright, Marcus J.. Colonel, United 
States Army, 36,37; General, 67, 
70, 97. 125, 158, 172, 179, 195, 202, 204, 
207, 220, 221, 257, 281, 287, 300. 

Wright, Miss Rebecca I., 197. 

Wyoming, Indians in, 344. 

Yakima Indians, 36, 38. 

Yellowstone Park, 368. 

Yellow Tavern, 162, 241. 

York, River, 310. 

Young, John R., 266. 

Young, Percy M. B., 168, 169, 314. 

Yuma, Arizona, 328. 




311-77-2 



